Young Chinese want to learn and grow more than to be led
Having started my career in Silicon Valley, I had taken it for granted that to lead is to set the right goals and motivate employees to achieve them with the right incentives (preferably, stock options) and the right work environment. My experience in China, however, has seen much to the contrary.
My first real job in China was at a startup in Beijing. The founders worshipped management by cheerleading. At the beginning and end of each day, the CEO would get the staff together for pep-talk sessions. He would extol the company's grand vision and how wonderfully we had been hitting the numbers (despite the opposite reality); then we would have to put our hands together and cheer our company name loudly in sync. Any doubt of the company's management would be greeted by smiling yet insistent group criticism sessions.
My next job was at one of the biggest Chinese Internet companies, which revolutionized China's Internet industry. The charismatic CEO had assembled a team of young followers who took to heart his vision of creating jobs for the hardworking. The stock options also helped.