At our September lunch, Venture Connectors was thrilled to feature Vitale Buford Hardin, who shared her personal struggle with perfectionism and addiction, and how it’s now turned into her purpose and career.
Vitale shared that growing up with an alcoholic mother and workaholic parents showed her it was her outside achievements that earned her praise and recognition, not who she was. She also talked about how her work as leader of the marketing communications department at a large law firm fed into her perfectionism.
Vitale discussed her extensive research on perfectionism, and how it affects the workplace. For example, 92% of people struggle with perfectionism, 86% believe their work is impacted by perfectionist expectations, and about 1/3 of the workforce is considering leaving their jobs because of perfectionist culture. She ended her talk by describing the differences between perfectionism and excellence, and by offering a roadmap to overcoming perfectionism.
Vitale is a keynote speaker, leadership consultant, executive coach, author of “Addicted to Perfect,” and CEO of The Hardin Group, a leadership consulting firm that works with organizations and leaders to transform their workplace cultures and leadership environments.
She is most known for her work on eradicating perfectionism in the workplace using her custom training content and solutions that are based on her proprietary research on the impact of perfectionism in the workplace. The Hardin Group’s clients have included Humana, NCAA, CenterPoint Energy, LifePoint Health, Keeneland, Logan Aluminum, University of Kentucky, Yum! Brands and Valvoline. Featured in The New York Times, Vitale is a sought-after speaker and commentator on leadership and organizational culture.
