What I like about it, is that it enforces workflows (either scrum, kanban or simply one-large-backlog) The Way They Were meant. So it solves a lot of bikeshedding and solves me & my team from trying to invent "something that works for us".

The idea proposed by OP works quite well there too, with kanban. Just pick the card at top, and never have more than one card per working person in "active" at any time.