People are individuals not resources.

Treat people like individuals.

The global economy is a big place.  Trillions of dollars slosh around the globe while people attempt to traverse the currents without drowning.  What business people often ignore is the people keep the global economy moving are individuals with lives, families, and challenges outside the business realm.  A person is more than a job description.  A person is a flesh and bone being with triumph and tragedy.  Each day billions of people wake up and struggle in the global economy to put food on the table.   The daily struggle is equal parts heroic, absurd, and necessary.  As leaders, we should understand the people around us as individuals rather than anonymous cogs in a wheel.

I often cringe when I hear professionals and business people refer to the people working for them as resources.  It is deeply dehumanizing. Each person working today is an assemblage of emotions, education, and experience.  Leaders should see these differences and put them to work.  Often, leadership is too busy showing off to their superiors to concentrate on what it takes to do the work.  It is a common pathology in business, academia, and government.  Agile Coaches and scrum masters have to help break this cycle of dysfunction.

The first part of the agile manifesto says, “Individuals and Interactions, over processes and tools.”  We need to embrace that value.  Each person working with us is an individual.  Each time we inspect and adapt, we should take into account not only the performance of the team but the performance of the individuals with the team.  In this way, we can coach others for success and help them work through failure.

What I am suggesting is hard work, but it will provide significant dividends.  Well lead teams have higher quality and deliver work faster.  Teams who work well together innovate.  Finally, teams who work well jointly make work more satisfying and sustainable for the business.  It is what happens when we treat people like people instead of resources.

Until next time.