Bernard Wheeler's Weblog

What's the clearest distinction between managers and leaders? This has been a topic of debate for many years, involving many people more learned than I in this subject area. However, having been in the workplace for over 20 years, I think I'm qualified to make some observations based on personal experience.

A piece of that experience that brought one of the key differences into stark relief for me was the recent CEC 2005 internal Sun conference, held in San Francisco at the end of February. This is where thousands of Sun 'technical' staff are brought together (pre-sales, proserve, tech support, engineering, technical marketing). It's an incredibly valuable part of Sun's cultural physiology, enabling people to a) feel that their value is noticed, b) get a broad picture of the “shape” of Sun and its internal emphasis on hardware vs. software vs. other innovation in the quest to solve customer problems, and c) listen to and exchange ideas, experiences, etc. with other like-minded enthusiasts.

One of the features of these conferences is that we get keynotes from various SVPs that are driving the key big sections of Sun. We also get “State of the Union” sessions from the people that are spearheading each person's particular technical community (the only time such a separation into "communities" is made). It was this collection of sessions that made the clearest distinction between managers and leaders only too visible.

That distinction? Inspiration.

As you'd expect (and I'd be worried if it weren't the case), Jonathan, Scott and Greg P all passed the test. They (individually and collectively) inspired a) faith in their ability to spearhead where Sun's going, b) confidence that we've got the right vision for where we're headed and c) enthusiasm to continue “doing the right stuff” because we're making great progress towards that vision.

However, some (but not all) of the other people in “leadership” positions (SVPs) would have scored poorly in an 'Inspiration Quotient' test. Now let me make two things clear:

1. I am in no way questioning anyone's ability to manage efficiently , to delegate, carry authority, or any such quality. I'm only talking about answering the question “Was I inspired by that?”

2. Sun is in no way unique in this profile. Most of the companies I have worked for would have a similar scorecard. (But that doesn't make it right.)

It's not just at conferences when this is visible: in a company such as Sun, where computing technology is a large part of its DNA, we get quite a lot of e-communications from the various leadership levels on a regular basis. And whilst they're typically concise and informative, “inspirational” is not a word that would normally spring to mind.

And this is where I think Sun (together with all those other companies) is missing a HUGE easy win.

Let's face reality: Sun (and a lot of the industry) is still in recovery mode following the burst of the dot-com bubble - but at least we're still here recovering. In my opinion it is exactly at this time when an inspired workforce can have a massive advantage over one that's ambivalent.

And they say that success is “1% inspiration, 99% perspiration”. My experience is that without the 1%, you're highly unlikely to get the full 99%. The question is: who's ensuring that the inspiration happens?

For Scott and Jonathan it happens as a matter of course – and to my mind it's no coincidence that they have their current roles. Others may have to focus a bit more to make it happen, but it's worth the extra work. What I'd like to see is for the next 6 months every communication out from VP level (at least SVP) and higher are checked before sending for their 'inspiration quotient' – the answer to the question “would this inspire me if I read/heard/saw it?”. If it fails, that communication needs to be re-thought and re-presented.

But why stop at VPs? (Well, they should all be doing it, because they're getting paid to perform leadership roles.) People in customer-facing roles (especially sales and pre-sales) would also do well to check whether they're inspiring their customers. You'll probably find that there's quite a link between the level to which they're inspired and how happy they are.

And why stop at 6 months? Well, we needn't stop then. But 6 months of just ensuring that inspiration is being spread daily, weekly, should see a marked difference. And if not, what's been lost – how much will it have cost? Less than a free puppy, that's for sure.

So if you ever catch yourself wondering whether you're doing the best that you can for your company (or your family for that matter), go inspire someone. You'll probably find it working on yourself too.