Name: Wolfgang Dreyer

Title: Seniro Specialist Director HPC and AI

Organisation: Oracle Iberia

Senior Manager with more than 33 years of experience in the technical computing industry throughout Europe and Asia. Track record of effective global collaboration to penetrate new markets and grow existing business with cutting-edge products and solutions. Known for thriving in a cross-cultural environment with strong collaboration and relationship management skills. Proven ability to develop targeted messaging and value propositions to drive revenue production.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Wolfgang's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

I am in a leader role since 1993 already. The change of leadership during this time is real dramatically. As a leader you definitely have to evaluate for yourself which of the new facets you take on. The most important for me was keeping my personality as this is the value why people work for you. Only if you are motivating your people with reasonable and achievable goals, which you can prove them that you can fulfill also - you will get the best results for the organisation.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

When i was in a worldwide operating company the IT person i had to carry out the transition from writing on single computer and transfering the documents to the next person by floppy disk (NOT MEMORY STICK). I introduced in this company networking, an computerized payrole sywtem and finally transitioned the company to SAP. After such major change there is the need to exchange the transitioning team for new blood who can take this forward.

Considering a next step for myself and living in a touristic Austrian area my decision was to be independent and do some consulting. Beeing focused on IT one of the pre-requirements was not to be the next IT consultant round the corner delivering Systems, transitioning companies from pre-computer processes to computerized times.

So i took the freedom and looked in technology and found the upcomming High Performance Computing technology one of the future technologies and founded a company specialised on this. Working out of the party cellar of the parents house and growing the company from 1 to 100 people finally it was sold. But i am still today 37 years later in the same type of business without any chance to get retired by my present company.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

What is sleep? The only fix point i have a day is my morning coffee which i take in front of the TV to look international news, and my lunch nap. All other is dominated from pre-assigned meetings to strategic work lined up for deadlines. I am working presently in a phase were i am already in retirement (but still employeed) so people more recognize me as a senior advisor now. I refused at the last assignment any people management role so my day got more relaxed.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Empatie is the most important for motivation! - A manager without empatie will burn out his team, does not get them motivated and will not take the team on his vision trip!

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Having read so many books there was no book which stood out of all. Much more impacted me meeting with Linus Torwalds, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella, Steve Balmer, Barak Obama . even if non of these were 1:1 these meetings were inspiring and you could take a value from the event and aldo the messaging.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

to be Empathic in your approach to others is one general advice i would highlight. All other advise should always be adjusted to the situation and worked out between the person who is seeking advise and the person giving advise. I try to never project my view on others but work out the way my counterpart can identify himself with the solution - as it is his individual way!

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

When you have 49 years of business life there are so many meaning full stories - and each may be different meaningful for a different person. To put up one story may categorize you and may turn away the interest of one specific person were another story of your life can change his life.