????20009年年中，嚴酷的現(xiàn)實更加明顯：全球經(jīng)濟的低迷將繼續(xù)延續(xù)并持續(xù)深化。我的公司HCL Technologies面臨兩難的抉擇。我們一直告訴公司的5.5萬名員工說，他們是我們成功的關(guān)鍵。然而，為了降低運營成本，裁掉其中幾百人看來在所難免。

????當時公司首席執(zhí)行官維尼特?納亞爾直截了當?shù)馗嬖V全體員工，我們要么削減1億美元的支出，要么進行大幅裁員。面對這個挑戰(zhàn)，我們的員工——而不是管理團隊——完成了一些驚人的創(chuàng)舉。他們齊心協(xié)力，提出76項構(gòu)想，在沒有裁員的情況下幫助公司節(jié)省了2.6億美元。其中一項重要的建議是取消彈性工作時間，這個措施幫助公司節(jié)省大量電力和運輸成本。這件事情是“開源”領(lǐng)導(dǎo)模式發(fā)揮作用的一個縮影。

????兩年后，世界各地的機構(gòu)組織都已經(jīng)意識到，勞動大軍的最新成員，也就是通常被成為“Y一代”或“千禧一代”的年輕人，擁有不可遏制的能量和創(chuàng)新思維能力，往往能夠提出新穎而且常常是激進的創(chuàng)意，幫助公司在面對巨大困難的時候仍然能取得成功。上文的例子強調(diào)了一個重要的問題——有時候我們需要做的只是征求一下員工們的意見。出于這個理由，我認為等級制結(jié)構(gòu)已經(jīng)不能適應(yīng)現(xiàn)代企業(yè)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，因為在這些機構(gòu)里創(chuàng)意幾乎只來自最高層，這樣會壓抑創(chuàng)新、創(chuàng)造力和責任感。

????其中釋放的信號很簡單：如果我們希望充分利用、培養(yǎng)和挽留有才華的員工，我們必須進行調(diào)整以實現(xiàn)新一代的抱負。

????看看Facebook吧。這家公司堪稱廢除傳統(tǒng)等級制度的先鋒。Facebook并沒有讓特定的個人擔任領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位，而是根據(jù)具體情況和員工個人的才干，由不同的員工挺身而出，擔當領(lǐng)導(dǎo)角色。處于高層的傳統(tǒng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人則承擔著鼓勵各層次新晉領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的重要職責。

????維基百科也是一個很好的例子，它向我們展示了一個優(yōu)秀的協(xié)作論壇。學(xué)術(shù)界曾經(jīng)不遺余力地質(zhì)疑維基解密的可靠性。誰能想到，有朝一日這個網(wǎng)站會成為獲取知識的重要途徑之一。

????In mid-2009, as it became painfully evident that the global recession would be sustained and deep, my company, HCL Technologies, faced a significant dilemma. We'd been telling our 55,000 employees that they were the key to our success. But to reduce operational costs, it seemed certain that we were going to have to lay off hundreds of them.

????That's when CEO VineetNayar told all employees point-blank that we had to cut expenses by $100 million, or cut jobs substantially. Faced with this challenge, it was our employees -- not the executive team -- that did something truly amazing. They banded together and developed 76 ideas to save the company $260 million with no layoffs. One significant idea was to abolish flextime hours, which led to a massive savings on electricity and transportation costs. This was the epitome of the "open source" leadership model in action.

????Two years later, organizations around the world have come to appreciate that the latest addition to the workforce -- often referred to as Generation Y or Millennials -- are equipped with an irrepressible energy and the ability to suggest new and often radical ideas to attain success during times of great challenge. The example above underscores one key point -- employees sometimes just need to be asked for their opinion. For this reason, I believe that hierarchical leadership structures where ideas almost exclusively come from the very top are ill equipped to tackle today's organizational challenges as they discourage innovation, creativity, and accountability.

????The message is seemingly simple: we must adapt to meet the aspirations of the upcoming generations if we intend to fully take advantage of, develop, and retain talented employees.

????Consider Facebook. Organizationally, it is the vanguard of a dismantled traditional hierarchy. Instead of specific individuals holding leadership positions, different people step forward to lead, depending on the situation and their individual talents. The traditional leader at the apex then is given the critical responsibility of encouraging new leaders at every level.

????Wikipedia is another great example of a prominent collaborative forum. Who would have believed that it could become a lifeline of knowledge, despite all attempts by academia to question its credibility?