Open letter to leaders

Open letter to leaders, especially those at the top of the organization or team:

Allow me to preface my comments with a warning that some may be offended, but do consider a) that to be offended is a choice b) only those that are hit close to home by these comments are likely to be offended.

Dear Leader,

This may be hard to accept at first, but you are likely not the smartest person in the room (room being a metaphor for everyone in your company). Sure, you have the title, the pay and benefits, the university degrees, but you lack one thing; if you are like the vast majority of your peers, that one thing is that you are so far away from what is happening at the front line of your organization, you have only a limited idea of what is really going on. 

To find out what your customers want and to hear about the barriers and problems that prevent your organization from effectively delivering, you would have to speak with those little people out in the field. You know the ones, all they want to do is talk, sharing their job hang-ups and trying to give - YOU - of all people advice on how to run this company. I know, I know . . . it's crazy. Their eyes seem to start rolling back in their heads when you tell them how we are going to win. Yes, it is those ones. 

Those ones that actually speak with and serve your customer everyday. They get to manage through your brilliant decisions which sometimes, with slight adjustments could be so much easier to execute. But of course, their capacity is too limited to see the vast wisdom in your decisions.

Some of the most successful leaders in history made it a priority to listen to those little people on the front lines. In fact, some actually - believe it not - regard those little people as the most important in the organization and treat them as such. Leaders like Herb Kelleher, former CEO Southwest Airlines, who many call a servant leader seems to have managed to find some success through this approach. Sure it may have been all luck but you should look up his work someday.

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to get across to you is that if you could take some time – I know your schedule is probably packed with lots of those important meetings – but carve out a little time to go and meet with and listen to those on the front lines of your organization, you might find that they have some interesting insight which you have never considered. Heck, one of them may even have a good idea that could make your organization more successful and of course make you look better.

I am trying to be subtle, but I hope I got my point across.

Open letter to leaders