The popular saying often attributed to the British historian and politician, Lord John Edward Acton, that ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ is indeed a truism. Despite the popularity of the saying, absolutism seems to be what is subtly obtainable in almost every part of the world, even in places that lay claim to liberalism.
The approach, however, has never been as effective as when the essence of authority is mutually understood and responsibilities are appropriately shared. The best of leaders upgrade the abilities of their followers and then shed responsibilities to ensure efficiency and potential maximisation.
Decentralisation of authority is therefore not only practicable but has become inevitable, particularly in the emerging world of all-round connectivity, massive availability, and unprecedented access to data that underpins knowledge, intelligence, decision-making, among others that define authority.
The axiom, knowledge is power means when knowledge is readily available and massively accessible, people are automatically empowered. While knowledge was held in hierarchies, and certain natural limitations like space, time, access, and capacities in the past; massive availability and ubiquitous access to data has, however, changed this reality.
The world is now running a data, information, and knowledge economy. In short, decentralisation of power structures in all ramifications has become inevitable in almost every aspect of life because of the unprecedented availability and access to data.
Data is the raw material of information, knowledge, and various forms of intelligence.
It is the source of every factual or statistical evidence necessary for knowledge identification, structurisation, standardisation, and indisputably, knowledge authorisation. Data is in no way a recent phenomenon but has always been around in various forms domiciled in every entity.
In short, it is ubiquitous, and as old as creation or perhaps precedes it. What is new about data is its massive availability, speedy accessibility, hyper connectivity, the volume that characterises it as ‘big’, and the seemingly inexhaustible storage capacity of cloud technology. The possibilities embedded in big data are ordinarily unimaginable.
Data is widely and rightly regarded as the ‘new oil’, perhaps the most sought after in the emerging digital economy where technically everyone and everything speaks and by implication produces more and more data per second.
Data is the most important ingredient in accurate decision-making and statecraft. For instance, it is practically impossible for a state to exist without a hands-on awareness of the status of things and events in and around its environment.
The word ‘state’ is closely related to the words ‘situation’, ‘circumstance’, ‘condition’, ‘status’ or ‘statistics’ which involves the process of extracting status out of data. This means the status, as in the state of things or events in and around an environment, and the data from which it is derived are inseparable.
Awareness of ‘status’ or ‘the stand or situation of things’ is the basis of intelligence whether in the military, market, business, finance, politics, culture, or more personal intelligence like emotional, social and the like that seem to be gaining wide popularity in recent time, particularly alongside the emergence of the digital economy of all-round connectivity where self-awareness and creativity are requisites for survival.
Big data is redefining the structures of leadership. Massive availability of data is not only promoting the reign of inclusivity in the decision-making process but has necessitated the rise of ‘soft power’ in leadership and diplomacy.
Mutual access to information, for instance, is gradually positioning effective communication, mutual understanding, and agreement above coercion and manipulation as obtainable in ‘hard power’. In essence, with the emergence of the data, information, and knowledge age, decentralisation has become inevitable, particularly because intelligence that underpins power structure is a natural product of data.
Although held down by the limitations of time, space, access, and capacity in the past, data is now generally ubiquitous and widely accessible. Therefore, any system that naturally strengths in ignorance, exclusivity, manipulation, and coercion is technically heading for a wreck in the emerging digital world of ubiquitous access and hyper-connectivity.
There are obvious indications of decentralisation and restructuring alongside the emerging reign of big data particularly in modern technological designs, educational and organisational structures, security architectures, and generally in the decision-making processes.
For instance, the emerging web 3.0 technology, that is, the third generation of internet technology also regarded as the web of data or semantic web of meaning and universal intelligence is designed, structured and built on decentralised technology.
Emerging web 3.0 is far beyond platforms, content generation, search, and connectivity as in the previous two genres of web 1.0 that was designed to be read only as in e-mails, and web 2.0 designed to be user-generated content (UGC) and highly interactive as in social media platforms.
Decentralisation powers emerging technologies like blockchain, the internet of things (IOTs), Artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities, decentralised finance (DEFI), and automation among others in their category.
Alongside these technologies is the rise of technical and social listening and modularity in the production process that prioritised dematerialisation, reusability, ‘de-mediation’, and ease of detachment.
There are also signs of decentralization in the emerging nature of work that is far more flexible while permitting work-life balance, access to personalities, creativity, and maximisation of individual potential unlike the waterfall approach of the past.
While decentralisation might indeed be a challenge to culture and establishments, it, however, does not imply disintegration or isolation, but rather a systematic connection in essence that guarantees general effectiveness and individual potential maximisation.
Besides, the world has never been as connected and interactive as it is right now in the digital era of all-round connectivity where people and things are super connected and hyper-interactive.
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No doubt, human nature tends to naturally resist change which often seems impossible until it becomes inevitable. Changes due to massive availability and access to data with the decentralisation effects are, however, closer to us than we can imagine.
For instance, the global campaigns for and extensive acceptance of democracy, open governance, inclusivity, freedom of information (FOI) among others are targeted at decentralisation, and massive data generation to sustain it.
However, while the destabilising consequences of decentralisation might be inevitable; effective and transformational leadership is to the rescue. Most importantly, leadership in the emerging digitalised world must be smart and creative enough to promptly and effectively align resources as needed.
It must be mature enough to accept ingenuity, and autonomy while managing diversity. It must be secured and confident enough to allow openness, access, and effective communication.
It must be understanding enough to focus on essence and meaning while managing the differences in approach and representation. It must be disciplined enough to prioritize excellence, standard, and ethics.
Data is not an end in itself but a means to an end; which are insight, mutual understanding, and accuracy in decision making. Achieving this end, however, requires intentionality and deliberate education that is focused on technical skills development, critical reasoning and creativity. In essence, the current era of wide availability and access to data requires certain kinds of education that prioritise essence, meaning, and systematic understanding rather than superficial absorption of information deprived of critical reasoning.
In summary, creativity, ingenuity, standardisation, mutual understanding, positioning, effective communication, collaboration, accountability, empathy, and trustworthiness are some of the most valuable traits of leaders in the emerging digital world of hyperconnectivity, decentralisation, inclusivity, dematerialization, and democratisation.
The demands of decentralisation will be more on leadership; the effectiveness of leadership and authorities in the emerging digital world will be tested solely on leaders’ ability to utilize individual freedom, structural autonomy, and ingenuity in building a workable society. Most importantly, leadership in the emerging digital world is universal, beginning with the individual in the form of self-leadership.
Olagunju is a researcher at the department of Data and Information Science, University of Ibadan
