The Principles of Quantum Team Management

Engineer James Everingham was looking for a way to approach team management in a way that he could enjoy it. He decided that, instead of acting like a therapist, he would assume a problem-solving point of view and began to design a management system like he would design a machine. To account for the unpredictability of human behavior, he applied quantum mechanics, including “superposition” – the simultaneous existence of multiple states. The thought experiment Schrödinger’s Cat can help explain superposition: Imagine a cat in a box with a vial of hydrocyanic acid and a minute amount of a radioactive substance. If one atom of the radioactive substance decays, it triggers a sequence in which a hammer breaks the vial and the cat dies. The box is closed and the observer won’t know whether the cat is still alive until he or she opens the box. Until then, the cat is dead and alive simultaneously. Use that concept to apply five principles of quantum team management:

1. “Manage to multiple ‘states’ as opposed to singular outcomes” – Don’t shepherd your team toward one goal. Put them in a position that allows them to excel. Don’t zoom in on one metric such as revenue, but find multiple ways of defining success. 
2. “Be hyperaware of the observer effect” – Just like the observer in the Schrödinger’s cat problem ends the simultaneous states of the experiment, a manager curtails the number of possible solutions and approaches a team can conceive simply by weighing in. Restrain yourself from contributing and pitching specific approaches. Instead, find the right questions to nudge your people toward creative solutions.
3. “Know when to open the box” – If you do have to get involved, focus on finding out as much as you can about the project and what happened. Take your time and develop thought-provoking questions that empower the team. 
4. “Understand and create strategic entanglements” – Because of “quantum entanglement,” things that happen to one particle also affect other particles. Similarly, positive actions will trigger more of the same. For example, if you hold yourself accountable to high standards, your team will maintain the same standards.
5. “Embrace the challenge of self-observation” – Managers also exist in simultaneous states of success and failure. Actively seek input from those outside the department.