What matters most?

How many of us truly believe that in a work environment, people matter most? It's a sentiment I assume most of you share. When I trace the path of my career, reflecting on every new role, every fresh team, every new manager, a common thread weaves through those initial interactions. I'd stand before my new team, giving my introduction, and without fail, I'd emphasize my commitment to a "people matter most" philosophy. I meant it. I wanted it to be true. I'd communicate this with genuine passion, but it never seemed to land with the same force it left me with. I never quite grasped why, or perhaps never bothered to deeply consider it. I just dismissed it as part of the getting-to-know-you phase.

Then I think of my own supervisors. In our first few meetings, they would also stress the critical importance of people to both them and to success. I'm certain my reaction mirrored that of my teams to me. At best, I was hopeful; at worst, deeply skeptical. But enthusiastically positive? Never. It seems no one starts a new working relationship with an unshakeable belief that people are the organization's priority. Is this just human nature, or is it a scar left by lived experience—a history where the "people first" ideal rarely aligns with workplace reality? I suspect it’s a mix, but I strongly lean toward our past experiences having the more powerful influence on our willingness to believe.

I believe most people sincerely want to act in a way that puts people first. And when conditions are perfect, they do. The problem is that work environments are almost never perfect. Leaders face daily choices that force a prioritization, and in those moments, they often select a path that doesn't explicitly demonstrate a "people matter most" approach. This isn't to say the alternative choices are bad or harmful to employees. It's simply that the decision is driven by something else that momentarily eclipses the team's well-being.

Early in my career, I can vividly recall choices that relegated my team down the list of what mattered most. Sometimes those decisions had a neutral impact; other times, they caused real harm. I remember one situation where a staff member expertly handled a student challenge—intervening, documenting, and following up properly. When I stepped in, I initially committed to a people-first track. But I didn't finish there. The students involved brought in their parents, which escalated the matter to senior decision-makers, and suddenly, my focus shifted. The people (both the staff member and the students) became secondary to the outcome. I chose results above all else. The outcome wasn't negative, but it severely strained my relationship with that staff member. Why this memory is so sharp, three decades later, is because the staff member acted with a people-first mindset where I had failed. After the issue was settled, they came to me, voiced their concerns about my decision-making, and—crucially—told me they understood why I did it, but needed to confirm our working relationship was still solid. I reacted predictably, as most leaders would have. But it felt wrong, and thankfully, that staff person showed me what it truly meant to make people matter most. Since then, making a "people first" impact has been my primary decision-making filter. It's not always possible or prudent, but I've strived to keep the human element at the core of everything I do.

So, where do leaders lose their people-centred compass? As my example illustrates, decision-makers quickly default to an "outcomes matter most" approach. Outcomes are vital—they measure success and progress. But when this approach dominates, people inevitably become less important to the decision-maker and the organization. In essence, the ends justify the means. Outcomes are easier to quantify, clearer to define, and quicker to achieve. People, conversely, are complex and—let’s face it—irrational. It’s an easy trade for a decision-maker to prioritize a concrete result over a messy human situation. What you often see in an outcome-first organization are performative, after-the-fact, people-centred behaviours. A positive result is met with a cheerleading email from the top praising the "great work of the people." But a deeper inspection shows those senior leaders were absent and disconnected while the real work was being done.

Leaders who recognize the uncomfortable gap between their desire to be people-focused and the reality of being outcome-focused often adapt due to this dissonance. I began to steer closer to my desired "people matter most" approach by focusing on process and inputs. My theory: if I could create more people-centred processes, the outcomes would be people-centred by default. This "process matters most" approach can succeed, especially where relationships and necessary interaction are low, and where speed and quality are high. Early on, I misapplied it. I thought great processes for meetings, reporting, and communications would signal to my teams that I valued their time and needs. It turns out, a process-first focus didn't get me significantly closer to my goal of "people mattering most."

While refining processes, I also looked closely at the inputs. As any good chef knows, great ingredients are the difference between a good and a great dish. I remember a mentor, a foundational leader in the Ontario college system, telling me a story. His boss tasked him to visit other colleges, find the best ideas, and bring them back. What he learned quickly was that the people mattered more than the ideas. His new approach became: how do I get the best people? This advice resonated deeply. I began to experiment with hiring, team engagement, and collaboration. I focused not just on "people inputs," but also on services, training, development, policy, and resources. Shifting my attention from the outcome to the process and inputs brought me closer to the people-first leadership I craved. But still, I felt short of the mark. Why? Despite becoming better at creating systems and conditions for success, the impact of my work often felt fleeting.

It was only in the final third of my career that I believe I finally mastered a truly people-centred leadership style. I learned to look at any decision and quickly determine whether the priority needed to be the outcome, the process, or the inputs—and critically, how to embed "people mattering" into any of those approaches. I recall one test of this philosophy vividly. A staff member sent a caustic email to an external partner. The partner complained to my supervisor, who justifiably told me to discipline the staff member. This shouldn't have been a struggle. The desired outcome was appropriate, and the staff member knew they were wrong. Yet, the standard disciplinary path felt fundamentally wrong. The distress was that I knew in my heart that a purely outcome-based approach would fail the people involved. I took a different path. First, I challenged my supervisor's directive. I wanted to understand why the behaviour happened, not just address the behaviour itself. I wanted to wade into the irrationality, understand the human factors, and then achieve the necessary outcome. This meant significantly more work, challenging authority, building a deeper relationship with my staff member, and repairing the external relationship. This extra, and for many, unnecessary work was the "people matter most" approach in action. The result was a positive change to the outcome, the process, and the inputs. We ended up in a far better place that would have been impossible without a people-first lens. What I learned then, and in countless examples since, is that outcome, process, and inputs all matter, but people matter most. A people-first approach allows us to achieve superior results, develop truly innovative processes, and identify inputs that would otherwise be inconceivable.

So, my advice to leaders is simple: you must communicate that people matter—often, and to everyone. But far more importantly, you must take the actions that prove it. This means engaging in the difficult, often uncomfortable work of confronting, challenging, being vulnerable, caring, forgiving, and accepting failure. I am still working on mastering these "people mattering" skills, but I will never return to another approach. Employment is a human creation that has drifted too far from being human-centred. Our workplaces need more leaders who will truly live the actions of a "people matter most" philosophy. My experience has shown that teams and organizations can achieve all of their desired goals—and many more unanticipated positive outcomes—by genuinely making people matter most.