Dear Home Office

Have you ever worked in the field with the responsibility of reporting to a home office?

How did that feel? I've noticed that there are big distinctions between people working in the field, doing the work, selling the product, delivering the goods, facing the customers... and people in the home office who make the rules, collect the cash, drink free company coffee, and call in sick if they need a day off.

When you work in the field you don't call in sick because then you don't get paid. At least not what you'd make by doing the work.

So when someone from the home office wants to give you feedback, how does that feel?

Maybe they have something to offer. Maybe they will give you tips that make a difference. Or maybe you might want to write them a note something like this...

"Dear Home Office...

Your advice sucks so please keep it to yourself. We know what works and what doesn't. We see our customers' faces. We feel their pain. We need new rules like we need more buggy software. Please, rearrange the furniture in your office or something. We're busy.

Love, those of us busting our humps in the field."

Of course you wouldn't really send a note like that, would you? But it's tempting.

The reality is likely that the people in the home office are working plenty hard. Their intentions are good. But without working in the field, with all respects, you just do NOT know know what it's like.

High performance leaders -- in the home office OR in the field -- take the time to understand the challenges and hardships of team members wherever they sit. They do it without judging people, and instead observe what is really going on. That takes more work. But, that's part of what makes them high performance leaders to begin with.

Lose the assumptions. Lose the attitude. Enjoy the work.

What do you think?

-- Doug Smith