Episode
Leadership Is Not About the Limelight I Jonathan Fullam
- Published
- Aug 14, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2456
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Summary
In this episode of the 40% Better Podcast, Bill Lennan sits down with Jonathan Fullam, VP of Customer Engineering at vCluster, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, team culture, employee motivation, and the human side of managing technology teams. Jonathan Fullam shares his journey from software engineering into leadership and the lessons he learned from working with strong leaders and role models. He explains why great leaders should put the spotlight on their teams, how to build trust, and why leadership is about helping others succeed rather than seeking recognition. The conversation also explores mental health, burnout prevention, rest and recovery, and the importance of modeling healthy work habits as a leader. Jonathan discusses how leaders can build stronger remote teams through intentional communication, meaningful connections, coffee chats, cross-team collaboration, and consideration for different time zones. You’ll also hear valuable insights on intrinsic motivation, identifying what drives individual team members, preparing future leaders before they receive a leadership title, and creating a culture where people can lead without being managers. Jonathan also opens up about one of the hardest parts of leadership: handling underperformance. He shares why honest feedback, clear communication, understanding individual strengths, and helping people find the right role are essential to effective leadership. Whether you're a technology leader, engineering manager, aspiring manager, or individual contributor looking to grow your leadership skills, this episode offers practical lessons on building happier, healthier, and more productive teams. Topics covered: • Leadership lessons from software engineering • Why leadership is not about the limelight • How…