I've always believed teams are made up of humans first - but I didn't fully understand what that meant until I watched someone choose us over everything else.
Each person has something that drives them - and it's not always the same thing. As leaders, it's easy to assume that what motivates us will also motivate our teams. But that's not always the case.
Years ago, I was leading a delivery team that was racing against a tight deadline. In the middle of it, one of our key technology leaders was diagnosed with cancer. It was devastating news - the kind that stops everything for a moment. My first instinct was simple: whatever he needs, we've got it covered. As a leader, my job was to give him air cover - to remove every barrier and let him focus on what mattered - his health. We'd rally around him as a team.
Shortly after, my director came to me and said he wanted to keep helping - that he didn't want to step away from the project. I told him to let our teammate know to focus on himself and not worry about work. But a day later, my director came back again. He said, "He really wants to stay involved."
At first, I couldn't make sense of it. How could someone facing something so life-changing still want to be part of the day-to-day? But over time, I realized - it wasn't about the work. It was about us. The team. The sense of connection and purpose that had been built over time. He didn't want to lose that.
He kept checking in, reviewing code, and supporting his teammates right up until three days before he passed away.
That experience changed me. It reminded me that passion and purpose can't be forced or faked - they're earned through trust, belonging, and mutual respect. And when those things exist, people will give everything they have to the team around them.
Sometimes as leaders, we think our job is to inspire others. But the truth is, the people around us often show us what true commitment and courage really look like. And it showed me that the foundation for that kind of devotion isn't built in a moment - it's built through trust, vulnerability, and creating space where people truly belong.