FCW.com Column: Moving from the Vertical to the Horizontal

Federal Computer Week intern and University of Maryland student Rachel Azaroff has an interesting column on FCW: Forget MySpace. It'’s time for FedSpace.

Azaroff argues that the federal workforce of the near future will be increasingly made up of members of a new generation --- the Millennials -- who, unlike some in my own Baby Boom generation, think horizontally rather than vertically.

Facebook and MySpace are the world of twenty-somethings. They like to network and work in teams. They see work as an opportunity to develop as people, exercise their passions and make a difference. Work is about more than making money. Career advancement means moving into different jobs and learning new skills. Young people seek lateral movement instead of simply moving up the corporate ladder.

She notes that this can clash with the existing federal government culture and that, rather than ask young workers to change, the government (and I think this applies to state and local government as well) should welcome this new strength as a way to finally achieve the cross-agency teamwork, and destruction of silos, that we have long discussed.

Interesting reading.