Extraction

People and systems treated as resources. Outcomes pursued without counting what they cost the people producing them.

What it looks like

The deadline holds and the team does not. You ask for one more push, and then another, and call it commitment. Turnover gets explained as people who couldn’t handle it. You are proud of what gets done and you have stopped asking what it costs, because the answer would slow you down.

The flattering misread

Rigor. High standards. “This work matters too much to go easy.”

The tell

You know the outcomes by heart and you cannot name what the people around you have given up to produce them.

What it protects

The belief that the mission justifies the cost. Extraction keeps you from having to choose between the goal and the people.

Where it shows up

Depletion, where it does the most damage. Slow build, when you push people to produce results on your timeline. Opposition, when you override instead of listening.

The move back

Count the cost out loud, in people, not just in hours. Ask what you would stop doing if you took the cost seriously. Then stop one thing publicly.

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