Overly meticulous management can be the biggest mistake, writes Ann-Maree Moodie.

Is he your hero or nemesis? Is she your role model or the woman you'd happily push off a cliff? The perfectionist manager is either someone you admire and want to emulate or the micromanaging control freak from hell.

The perfectionist manager is one who will rewrite your board paper to such a high standard that your professional image with key influencers in the organisation will be polished at the same time. The close attention to detail - grammar, syntax, spelling, formatting - may drive you to distraction but you'll acknowledge (perhaps begrudgingly) that the final product is better in all respects.

"The perfectionist manager can stretch you to achieve your potential," leadership expert Sarah Cornally says.

"They develop talented people with good organisational disciplines who produce high-quality outcomes; they are reliable, develop reliable people and are highly organised.

"On the other hand, perfectionist managers can be demanding, unrelenting, task-focused, insensitive, highly critical and create excessive and unnecessary work. By doing so, they'll be inefficient and unproductive in their drive for unrealistic standards of perfection."

There are many reasons why we exhibit certain behaviours that can be positive or hazardous for our physical and mental health. A woman who exercises obsessively might be chasing the unrealistic image of female beauty portrayed in the media. A man who drinks too much might be trying to avoid dealing with a failed relationship.

"Among the range of behaviours that a perfectionist may engage in is micromanaging," Cornally says. "Micromanaging typically arises when someone is fearful or concerned about the consequences of not paying close attention to the details; they're worried something could go seriously awry.

"This can be due to feelings of anxiety, their internal beliefs about success, or it may be triggered by past experiences with certain people or types of people."

Ironically, the benefits of being a perfectionist are the sorts of qualities mentioned in job advertisements or asked about in interviews: attention to detail, good organisational skills, commitment to working to a high standard and producing high-quality work, the pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement. But, put into practice, the same qualities can be detrimental to the individual and the team.

"The perfectionist manager may have difficulty delegating, be overly meticulous and redo or review work unnecessarily," Cornally says. "The impact on the perfectionist is they have to work really hard to create 'flawless results' and, as a consequence, they feel responsibility very heavily.

"They will overprepare or procrastinate for fear of failing and so create pressure-cooker situations for themselves to perform. When this happens, they'll become confused about things they are usually quite clear about because they'll be alert for anything that might result in failure."

When the perfectionist manager has these feelings, they are likely to create bottlenecks for themselves, as well as for their team. To manage the risk of failure and error, they'll create highly complex systems that eventually overwhelm them and the people they manage.

"The perfectionist manager will set unrealistically high standards that cause people not to bother or to give up," Cornally says. "They will be intolerant of mistakes by team members; they will constantly fix things before others can learn how to operate at the same high standard. Yet most of us learn through mistakes and by rectifying our errors."

Perfectionist managers are hardest on themselves and will react angrily when they make mistakes. "Even though their emotions are directed inwards, it can appear to be the opposite," Cornally says. "Their team may feel harshly judged and can give up trying to meet such standards."

Team members are likely to respond to this style of leadership by either trying to meet the same exacting standards or boycotting their manager.

The additional risk to the perfectionist manager is the person - most likely their superior - who is canny enough to exploit their behaviour. This person will encourage the need for perfectionism when it suits them and criticise it when it doesn't.

Determining whether the perfectionist manager is right for an organisation will partly depend on whether they are aware of their tendency to be meticulous. If so, "they can be great team leaders", Cornally says.

This might mean the ideal interview question is: "Do you have your tendency for perfectionism under control?"

Ann-Maree Moodie is the managing director of The Boardroom Consulting Group.