Creating personas is not the goal. Personas are merely a good repository of user research that aids in communicating those insights.
And with this simple explanation, my UX world view was yet again forever changed thanks to a key rephrasing by David Travis and Philip Hodgson as recent guests on the UXPod. I've been searching for a better way to describe the importance of Outcomes > Outputs, so by world changing, what I mean is that my synapses finally created that beautiful spark of recognition in seeing that everyone's job and accomplishments should be discussed by their true outcomes, not about the tools or processes used to get there...
Making five burgers a minute isn't our goal, satisfying more people's hunger in a shorter amount of time is.
Capturing user stories isn't our goal, successfully communicating problems to our team is.
Tracking sprint velocity isn't our goal, being able to more confidently deliver what we've promised is.
Running an ideation workshop isn't our goal, collaboratively understanding what potential solutions are worth testing is.
Making a product isn't our goal, solving someone's problem so that they can focus their efforts and mental capacity elsewhere is.
Overall, it's about recognising that what you do or use are not the target outcomes to work towards or boast about. It does not matter at all if you used a journey map, persona, usability test, or workshop if doing so didn't help you and your team create some kind of positive life change for your customers in the end.
Find the root cause of why you're doing the work you do, and reframe how you recognise it's value.