How to Lead the Facebook Generation

Gary Hamel, in his weekly WSJ.com blog, writes about the Facebook generation and ways fortune Fortune 500 companies aren’t prepared to deal with this new crop of workers.

There is one item in particular that caught my attention about these young workers: they expect leaders to serve rather than to preside. For most leaders, this is counter-intuitive. Most leaders think they’re in charge, and in charge for a reason. It’s up to the leader to set direction and make any and all decisions. People on the team, they believe, exist to serve the leader.

The problem is, workers are fed up with selfish leaders’ behavior, and no longer wish to serve a self-serving leader — not that they ever much did before.

What leaders must understand, before it is too late, is that workers will quit on them if they don’t start adjusting to the expectation that they serve their workers. And when workers quit on you, and you can no longer get the most out of your workers, your career will be harshly limited. After all, you are judged as a leader based on how well your team performs.

Serve your people, help them bring out their own best, and you will generate a team of loyal, hardworking, high-performing people who will not have to be managed. They simply need to be pointed in the right direction, and they will astound you with their results. By serving them, they will serve you.

Image used under Creative Commons by Flickr user birgerking.

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