Lessons in IT Transformation: Technology Expert to Business Leader

Inspiring Others to Share the Vision

This next concept may make you feel a bit uncomfortable. I know it was tough for me to embrace at first. I went to a conference once where one of the presenters asked the question, “Do you inspire your people?” I initially balked at this notion. After all, “inspiration” was best left to people of great integrity and spirituality. It was also the stuff of great movements. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired people. How was some IT executive supposed to inspire people? I struggled with this concept for a long time until I finally wrapped my brain around the fact that leadership on any level in any field of endeavor did indeed require a level of inspiration in order to create great results.

I remember an old story I once heard about a man who was walking past a construction site. He walked up to the first laborer and asked what he was doing. The mason shared that he was “making twenty bucks an hour laying bricks.” This didn't satisfy the man's curiosity, so he asked the same question to another laborer. The second worker shared that he was “building the greatest cathedral in the world.” Both workers had the same job, but the second worker had a greater vision. This was due to a higher level of inspiration. What do your people feel they are doing? Have you asked them? Are they simply making a living, or are they building a life? Are they a part of a greater purpose that they are proud of, or are they simply cogs in a machine?