attention to detail matters

Many managers and leaders are not detail focused. That’s OK. However, if you are one of these leaders or plan to become one, then you’d better have somebody in your team that does care about attention to detail.

As a manager or aspiring leader, you need to care about the details. Why?

Because it’s your reputation at stake. The quality of the work that you oversee is a reflection of you, and your team. Do you want people to see you as a leader who doesn’t care about doing things properly?



1. Attention to Detail matters, Because if You Don’t Care, Why Should Other People?

If it doesn’t look like you’ve reviewed your work before it goes out into the world, what are you telling people? Here are some possible ideas:

  1. Your team is disorganised and rushes the work
  2. You think that people will look past the issues with the work and will instead spend time really understanding the core contents
  3. You believe people won’t notice
  4. Your team is incapable of doing good work.

Attention to detail matters because someone who takes more pride in their work will win every time.

2. Attention to Detail Matters Because One Error Can Ruin Your Credibility

Attention to detail is not all about spelling or grammar. It simply means getting the small things right.

I’ve seen business proposals submitted where the title and name of the decision-maker were both incorrect. I’ve also seen consulting proposals where the final pricing had errors, resulting in an incorrect cost.

Many people may look past these issues, but the fact is, they just make your work look sloppy. If your audience sees errors in obvious places, then they are likely to have less confidence in your work as a whole.

Paying Attention to Detail Doesn’t Mean Aiming for Perfection

Just because you pay attention to detail, it doesn’t mean you need to spend your time working IN the detail.

Attention to Detail Matters - Balance

What I mean by this is that you don’t want to spend your time consumed with small, low-value tasks. Most of the time, you want to leave that to your team.

But, when there is work to review, you should take care to make sure that the important details are right. It’s a fine balance, and sometimes people fall into the trap of trying to achieve perfection!

You can read more about perfectionist leaders in this post: How Being a Perfectionist is Killing Your Leadership.

Attention to Detail is the Easy Part, So Get it Right

I saw a post on LinkedIn recently where somebody was complaining that people nitpick on minor errors in documents. Do you really want to waste time with a document that looks like it was prepared by somebody who doesn’t care?

Getting the detail right with calculations, spelling and grammar is the easy part.

The hard work is getting the solution right, doing your research, crafting the right story or selling a dream to your customer.

Attention to detail matters. People who see those small errors throughout your document may just throw your team’s hard work in the bin.

Resource: If you struggle to make time to understand the important details of your team’s work, then Thoughtful Leader can help. The Time Management for Leaders Online Course contains loads of practical effective ways to free your time and be more effective. Enrol and free your time today!

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Do you think attention to detail is important? Or is it overrated? Leave a comment below!

Alternatively, if you would like to ask a question or need some help, you can send me a private message through my contact page.