Victims of the system
Most people who seem to be blocking progress are in fact well intentioned and trying to do the right thing but they are victims of the system in which they work.
So often when I speak to people that have been identified to me as the blockers in the system, I find that they are in fact the victims of the system.
For example, if the flow of work from Require to Deploy lacks sufficient quality, then the operational acceptance and change management people have to impose high levels of controls in order to protect production. Over time the change management team becomes seen as a blocker where in fact they are forced into a position of obstructiveness by the lack of defect control back up the flow.
As another example, developers working within a project construct are expected to deliver to predetermined time frames and requirement specifications with a limited budget. This means the only variable they have is code quality, so it should be no surprise that developers develop a reputation for cutting corners.
Both of these groups are victims of the system. In general they are good professional people trying to do the best for the organisation, and prevented from doing so by the system within which they are placed.
Of course incompetent people exist, but they are a minority. Next time you are going off about somebody, think for a moment about their situation and the constraints imposed on them by the system. If you sit down and understand their position, you will usually find that they are victims of the system.
Fix the system.
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