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What not Where

The wrong question: Where should you work?

The right question: What is the work?  

Once that's been answered, then a decision about how, where, and when to get work done in the most productive ways can be made. 

People who are not in a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) will often make decisions about where they work from without any consideration being given to what the work actually is.  We can't even count how many times we've heard people say "I want to work from home on X day of the week", and when pressed about what their results are, they have no idea. This is simply not healthy for any organization. Results cannot be delivered if people don't know what they are.

In a ROWE, this thought process flips - people ask first about what the work is so they can actually make the right decisions about how, when, and where. ROWE employees know that if they are not where they need to be when they need to be there, based on the results that they need to achieve, their performance will be addressed. Nobody wants that so gaining clarity about the work and how it's being measured is a natural first step.

If you, or any team in your organization, find that you are in conversations about where work is taking place, stop. Just stop now. Make it easier. Talk about what the work is and the right decisions about where it should take place will follow.

Really - they will.