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I recently took a personality assessment test which required me to answer the following question: "What do you feel more comfortable with, people or processes & systems?"
The question bothered me a lot. Mainly because I had to choose one or the other without the benefit of any elaboration on my part. That's not the case with this article, however, so now I can share how I really wanted to answer that question.
In organizational terms, either one is useless without the other. So here's my final answer: "I'm comfortable emphasizing the importance of processes and systems to people, while being careful not to make individuals feel insignificant" This is somewhat of a balancing act, and I believe that a person either has a knack for it, or they don't.
Here is my reasoning for this answer.
From a business perspective, what good is a group of people who have a great idea, if none of them can come up with a practical way to get from point "A" to point "B"? That's a futile situation. A bunch of dreamers - sitting around and dreaming. At most, a bunch of dreamers spinning their wheels and not getting anywhere very fast. Good intentions won't take you very far without a vehicle. Therefore, we introduce a system comprised of processes.
On the other hand, what good is a fantastic system without empowered people who feel valued and aptly equipped to master that system?
It's a symbiotic relationship. If you choose one over the other, you're simply setting your organization up for failure.
Proponents of systems often neglect the nurturing of people, while the people advocates are often dreamer types who believe that wild success will come through casual ambiguity. The truth is that both are looking at a long-shot and are taking the longest possible route to true success - if they manage to arrive there at all.
Which came first, the people or the process? I know that sounds silly but think about it for a moment. Who created the process? People did. Who will make the system successful? People will.
Key into the human element by finding ways for your employees and coworkers to truly realize their intrinsic value. Connect with them. If you can do this, you will have no problem developing them into masters of your system. You'll also find that many of them will even become innovators who will help you to continuously improve your systems.
But none of it's ever going to happen if they feel like a bump on a log.