Abstract

The mindset of today's workforce is not as it was a decade or two ago. At one time an employee would think, “I need to be cautious and not take chances. I will do what I am told. I will learn all the rules and obey them. I will be compliant to authority figures and not question their decisions. Above all, I will be loyal and make my boss happy and do a good job.” This was typical of employees in the twentieth century. However, the twenty-first century employee's thinking has moved away from this old paradigm: today's work environment mindset is one of, “I'm going to be innovative and creative. I want to be asked, not told. I want the responsibility for making the decisions that will affect my job, my career, my life, myself. I seek risk and will live with the consequences. I will form alliances, partnerships, and networks with whomever I please. I will be the source of my own satisfaction.” The author Sayling Wen (2000) in his book Leadership a Dose of Sun Zi (2000) suggests that, according to Chinese philosophy, the twentieth century was the era of the dog and the twenty-first century the era of the cat.