Modern organizations are built like pyramids with a top-down hierarchy. 

This structure assumes:

• Competition
• Conquering
• Survival of the fittest
• Winner and losers

After all, there is only room for one at the top.

Teams within these hierarchical structures tend to operate in a siloed, linear (yang) fashion, as if they are all walking in a straight line. They are going somewhere; however, they can only see the back of the person in front of them.

This formation doesn’t allow them to operate in a collaborative, mutually supportive way. 

In order to achieve balance, there is a needed shift happening, led by Engineering teams. Some refer to this shift as Swarm Intelligence.

Swarm Intelligence is a self-organizing phenomenon found in nature, for example, among birds, ants, honey bees, bacteria, schools of fish, and herds, whereby decisions spontaneously arise from the interactions of individuals, leading to coordinated group actions and decision-making. 

Swarm Intelligence assumes decentralized control, meaning that no central authority governs the behavior of any individual in the swarm. They are self-organized; each individual has agency and interacts with other individuals without external guidance. The various interactions subsequently lead to coordinated group actions that benefit the entire colony.  

Honey Bees, for example, split into autonomous working teams that are aligned with the tasks and survival of the larger colony – gathering nectar, keeping the hive clean, scouting new locations, or producing honey. Through group collaboration, they gather diverse perspectives, navigate extremely complex systems, and participate in shared decision-making.

We also see this behavior emerging in artificial systems, for example, within generative AI, social networks, and climate consciousness. 

Businesses are replicating this approach as well, particularly within the world of Engineering. Spotify, for example, has an agile engineering culture that uses “squads.” The autonomous squads are cross-functional, self-organizing teams with end-to-end responsibility for their innovation and product but are aligned with the overall organizational ecosystem. 

You can think of the structure of these systems as a combination of both linear lines and what we see below. 

There is then a movement between circle formations and lines, yin and yang. Moving forward individually, then coming back together, then moving forward again. Operating autonomously and together, all at the same time.    

We can see this come to life in the beauty of the murmuration.

But what does this take? What behavioral shifts are necessary?

Highly effective Engineering teams display a high degree of: 

• Trust
• Collaboration
• Sharing
• Helping
• Mutual Support
• Cooperation
• Sustainability
• Understanding
• Emotional intelligence
• Courageous Communication
• Authenticity
• Self Confidence
• Co-creation
• Curiosity and Discovery

Effective Engineering cultures of our future will understand that individuals are crucial to the success of the whole, therefore, the health, vitality, and inclusion of each individual is of the utmost importance. Because of this, individuals place their own interests secondary to the needs of the group. 

If your Engineering team is ready to build an effective, high performing team, leveraging the principles of Swarm Intelligence, we invite you to attend our upcoming event, Engineering the Future with Swarm Intelligence, where we will be discussing these concepts in greater detail as well as tactical steps for bringing these shifts to life within your own work.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sign up today HERE!