Property 1: Decentralized

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swarms

Posted by Justin Long ⋅ July 16, 2008 ⋅

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Swarms are flatly connected small groups of people who share goals and communications with little or no hierarchy or control.

Some groups start by asking, “Who’s in charge?” They have a president, a board of directors, or some other leader who tells everyone what they should do.

In decentralized leadership, no single individual is in charge. In an ant hive, no one has rank. Each ant has a role to play, but no one gives orders (the queen just makes eggs). Decentralized groups have little or no centralized headquarters or command structures. If you attack an army’s command structure, you can paralyze them; but leaderless organizations can be incredibly robust (able to survive oppression, suppression, and the lack of resources), adaptable, self-funding, self-perpetuating and self-reproducing.

Decentralized leadership is not the same widely distributed. Some groups are spread out over a wide area. While geographic distribution does introduce an element of decentralization, it is not the same as being decentralized. The globalization of the world is making it possible, for better or worse, for centralized leadership structures to reach deep into distant places.

While no one has rank, everyone has responsibility. Leadership is diffused, spread out among members. Anyone can lead. With no central authority, decisions are made by individuals who self-organize into small teams operating by consensus and collaboration. A plausible promise everyone agrees to serves as the “measuring stick.”

Of course, all ants live by instinct. They have their jobs built into them. Humans are not the same, but we too have things built in: gifts, talents, desires, and dreams. Human swarms can unleash these gifts. Use these tools to help build decentralized leadership in your swarm.

Shared Doctrines
• Plausible Promises: the standard by which everything is measured
• Standard doctrines: shared behaviors based on the promise
• Bravery: a structure that enables security and action
• Open Communication: sharing information and insight
• Influence: acting through relationships

Case Studies
• The ICBL was deliberate in not establishing a central office; each NGO had to find a way to participate in making the campaign work. This structure helped to insure that the ICBL ‘belongs’ to all of its members and that these members would have to be active in the process to achieve the Campaign’s goals.
• Al-Qaeda is a decentralized asymmetrical military group with deep links into related organizations.
• Migros is a Swiss firm owned by its employees as well as its customers. Its 1.9 million shareholders annually approve its budget. The company spends 1% of its annual revenues to benefit the Swiss, is the largest private funder of vocational schools (Gloor 2007).
• Protestors of the World Trade Organization used swarming techniques to protest the conference. See tinyurl.com…

Key Reading

Brafman, O., & Beckstrom, R. A. (2006). The starfish and the spider: the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations. New York: Portfolio.

Gloor, Peter & Scott Cooper, The New Principles of a Swarm Business, MIT Sloan Management Review 48:3 (2007), tinyurl.com…

Covey, S. R. (2005). The 8th habit: from effectiveness to greatness. New York: Free Press.