Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Connection

Do you feel the pressure to be perfect at work? In your career, do you value excellence over connection? If you answered "yes," you're like most of us. But one of the hardest pills to swallow is the fact that connection will get you further in your career than your efforts to avoid failure.

Leaders and professionals alike are realizing that authenticity is the true differentiator. The people who know how to show up, listen, and build real trust are the ones who cut through the noise and make career-altering connections.

That’s the focus of this week’s PRO VOICE podcast episode—a conversation about communication, community, and why perfection is often the biggest barrier to connection.

Pattern Interrupts: How Real Conversations Begin

Every meaningful connection starts with a shift away from autopilot small talk and toward genuine curiosity.

As Dwight Spencer, a community strategy consultant and creative business coach, explains, “Whenever you go into a new setting, the default reflex is to say, 'So, what do you do?' and that is the absolute worst question that you can ask in those situations."

Some better questions to ask:

For Americans, our identity is often tied to our jobs, so breaking the habit of asking the "usual" questions can be difficult. But it's worth it. When you shift your language, you invite people to show you who they are, not just what they do. True connection begins the moment curiosity replaces conformity.

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When Jerry Rice, an employee engagement and global communications strategist, reflects on his experience leading through the COVID-19 pandemic, his insight is clear: communication builds trust, especially when things fall apart.

“We took crisis and turned it into opportunity. We allowed our CEO to become sort of the voice of fact and reason in a sea of misinformation through open and authentic communication. We did weekly videos out to the community. And then we wanted to hear back from everybody to see how they were doing throughout what was a really, really difficult time for a lot of people.”

His experience is a reminder that disruption can actually accelerate innovation if leaders stay visible and open when uncertainty hits.

When communication feels uncomfortable, it’s usually because you’re doing it right. Connection requires courage.

For Rhonda Simpson, a leadership coach and organizational engagement leader, authenticity starts with a simple but powerful habit. “I like to take a moment and ask random people, 'How are you doing?' Generally, people will say, 'I'm doing fine.' But then I like to follow it up with, "Okay, but how are you really doing?"

When she asks a second time with more of a genuine curiosity, she says it's amazing the kinds of real answers she gets from others, and that this practice has helped her connect with people on the fly, especially during busy times when leadership teams often don't think to pause and respond with curiosity.

That second question opens the door to honesty, and it’s often where real connection begins. It's a small act of empathy that signals to others that you're actually listening, and you care enough to ask again.

Connection doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through intentional systems—and sometimes, technology helps.

Technology gives us reach, but it can also create distance.

Rhonda points out that many digital networks “build surface-level relationships.” In contrast, “smaller, purpose-driven communities” create space for trust to grow (like ours at Work It DAILY!).

Connection means being present where it counts. When leaders use tools to make empathy easier, they scale connection without losing authenticity.

Authenticity starts where perfection ends. It takes courage to show up and be seen, especially in a professional setting. But those who lead with presence—and imperfection—are the ones who stand out. Be yourself. Listen to others. Own your mistakes and grow through them. At the end of the day, people connect with what’s real—not what’s perfect.

Take Your Leadership Further With PRO VOICE

The insights shared here are just a preview of what’s happening inside PRO VOICE—Work It DAILY’s leadership platform for building executive visibility and influence online.

If you’re ready to amplify your leadership brand, sharpen your communication strategy, and grow your professional reach, PRO VOICE is your next step.

Join today and start building your voice, your presence, and your authentic leadership power.

Spring Cleaning: 4 Ways To Fix Your Job Search

Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.

In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning, with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.

For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include...

Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:

A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:

Negative Trends

You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.

The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them.

When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your resume will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.

One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager is that posted the position, address your cover letter to them directly, and apply for the job directly on the company's website.

The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.

This strategy is called backchanneling, and it's the best way to network your way onto a company's radar and stand out to hiring managers.

Positive Trends

You applied for three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.

The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well, and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.

The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.

Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.

The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right), and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date or another similar opportunity elsewhere.

Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.

Let's start with resumes!

Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.

The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.

Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.

While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.

As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. Why are you passionate about this line of work? What do you like about the company's products or services? Why do you admire the work they do? The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.

If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.

Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.

Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"

Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.

By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years or making new connections.

You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.

Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.

There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:

Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!

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