The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today's answer to the question "Why is it important to embrace imperfection in professional development?" is written by Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify.

As the saying goes, "Nobody is perfect." We often hear this, but then quickly forget the meaning as we set high standards and expectations for the people we work with. is often said, but then quickly forgotten.

No matter where we rank at the company we work for, each one of us could always do a better job at something: meet deadlines, know our products better, be more organized ... the list is endless.

Imperfection is part of what makes life interesting, and I'd argue, what makes a company successful. By making mistakes, we learn what doesn't' work. This provides us an opportunity to change course and correct whatever problems we run into. Imperfection causes us to think, and thinking is never a bad thing.

Too many leaders, however, equate imperfection with "shortcomings." I'll never forget scanning a performance review that one of my co-workers was giving to a direct report. He actually had a section in the review titled "Your Top 3 Shortcomings." What a horrible way to think about someone's performance, and what a great way to drive a potentially good employee out of the business.

In today's world where employees move around frequently, and the cost of turnover is incredibly high, the most evolved leaders need to approach imperfections from the perspective of ways to support their people, provide them opportunities for growth and learning, and get the most out of them for the time you have them.

To be clear, there are two groups of imperfections in my book: those that speak to the core values of an individual that don't align with the core values of your company, and and those that are based on cumulative life experience and innate habits.

The first set are non-negotiable and not what we're here to talk about.

It's the second group of imperfections that are either just the natural differences between people that keep it real, or things that need to be addressed because of a potential lingering impact on the business in some way that needs to be supported.

Natural differences aren't the ones that you should be tackling. If everyone in the workplace thought and acted exactly the same way, nothing would ever change or grow. However, the types of imperfections that have a lasting and negative impact on a business provide a perfect opportunity for coaching and professional development.