Nobody’s perfect. That’s just a universal truth that’s been around for as long as the concept of perfection has been around. Sadly, the people who are most susceptible to dismissing this notion are the ones who need to embrace it most. Leaders come under intense scrutiny—both from their followers and from themselves. Nothing ever seems to be quite good enough when you’re a leader.

But, in order to be an effective leader in the long-term, you have to be able to move past imperfection as a leader.

Use Imperfection as a Way to Allow for Connection

If you’re not perfect, you can absolutely bet that the people you come across in your daily life aren’t perfect, either. Instead of giving them an unrealistic idea of yourself as a leader who never makes mistakes, let them in on the little secret that you’re just like them.

Fostering connections in that way will lead to more honest, open relationships that will actually bolster your status as a leader over time. People would rather follow someone they trust than someone they think is too good to be true.

Use Imperfection to Inspire Those Around You

On a similar note, your imperfection as a leader can inspire those around you. You can move past your imperfections as a leader if you see them more as learning opportunities for yourself and for others than as stumbling blocks in your journey.

Everything that happens to you in life informs who you become. Let your past imperfections positively inform what you do in the future and how you inspire others rather than letting them slow you down or hold you back.

Use Imperfection as a Starting Point

Mistakes and imperfections are the perfect place to start when you’re trying to build a positive legacy. Perfection is boring, and it doesn’t inspire greatness. If you’re aiming for perfection, you’ll always stay in your comfort zone.

Branch out and try things you’ll surely fail at, and you’ll find that you’ve gone so much farther than you might have otherwise. It’s ultimately freeing to move past imperfection as a leader.