Leaders make things happen that wouldn’t happen by themselves. They are catalysts for change. The Opportunities-Obstacles Quotient (QO2) Profile measures how an individual is likely to lead and approach change, based on their tolerance for risk.
The QO2 Profile can significantly enhance team dynamics by focusing on several key aspects of team behaviour and interaction.
The QO₂ Profile reveals how individuals and teams respond to uncertainty, drive towards goals, tackle challenges and maintain momentum - especially when outcomes aren’t guaranteed.
Grounded in research, the QO₂ Profile identifies why some people:
- Are threatened by change and others energised by it
- Only focus on the future or won’t let go of the past
- Can see many solutions to a problem and others only one
- Assume the best and others assume the worst
- Are goal oriented and others aren’t
The QO₂ is widely used across industries for leadership development, team effectiveness, strategy implementation and change programs. It is especially valuable when clarity, adaptability and psychological pacing are critical.
The QO2 is a powerful tool in helping members understand others approach to risk taking and openness to new ideas. When selecting climbing partners, QO2 really comes to the fore especially when making a summit bit for Everest.
Bob Killip & Zac Zaharias, Everest Expedition
What the QO₂ measures
The QO₂ is built around five core subscales of risk orientation:
- Moving Towards Goals Energy - the drive and resilience individuals apply toward achieving goals and seizing opportunities.
- Multi-Pathways - the ability to consider and pursue multiple options and alternative strategies for achieving desired outcomes.
- Optimism - the extent to which individuals maintain a positive outlook, especially when facing challenges or uncertainty.
- Fault-Finding - the tendency to focus on potential problems, errors, or risks when evaluating ideas or actions.
- Time Focus - whether individuals are more oriented toward the past, present, or future in their decision-making and risk evaluation.
It also reports two key indices:
- Handling Change - how positively and proactively an individual responds to change, challenge, and uncertainty.
- Resilience - a person’s capacity to recover from setbacks, maintain optimism, and sustain goal-directed effort over time.
Together, these dimensions paint a clear picture of how individuals and teams perceive obstacles, act on opportunities and sustain performance during change.
When to use the QO₂
Bringing Balance
The QO2 helps individuals understand their predispositions towards seeing opportunities or obstacles, allowing teams to balance these perspectives effectively. Facilitators can work with individuals to explore what a healthy balance looks like and devise actionable steps towards achieving this balance. This aids in managing diverse attitudes within the team, ensuring a mix of optimism and caution in decision-making.
Managing individual responses to change
The QO2 helps leaders understand the difference between change (external) and transition (internal), and why some people resist what others embrace. It’s particularly useful when:
- Change is urgent, complex or layered
- Teams are reacting differently to the same event
- Leaders need insight into emotional responses to change
By revealing how different team members respond to change, the QO2 aids in understanding resistance or acceptance within the team. This insight is invaluable during periods of organisational transformation, as it allows leaders to tailor their approach to change management, ensuring that all team members are adequately supported and engaged in the process.
Innovation, decision-making and risk
The QO2’s emphasis on risk orientation enables teams to understand each member’s approach to risk. This understanding can foster better communication and collaboration, as team members can adjust their interactions based on others' comfort with risk. Such alignment is crucial in project planning and execution, where balancing risk and opportunity is key to success.
Building Resilience
The QO2 offers a practical way to assess and build resilience — not just emotional stamina, but the ability to act constructively when conditions are tough. It’s particularly useful in:
- High-pressure environments
- Projects at risk of stalling
- Leadership coaching under uncertainty
Using QO₂ with Team Signals
Team Signals is a multi-rater engagement diagnostic and pulse-check tool that helps teams understand how they’re functioning right now, and where to focus next. It captures both leader and team perspectives, turning real-time feedback into clear development priorities.
When used alongside the QO₂ Profile, Team Signals provides a broader view of team dynamics. It highlights what’s helping or hindering engagement and where development efforts will have the greatest impact.
This combination is especially effective:
- At the start of a change program, to surface early risks and engagement needs.
- During mid-project reviews, to check whether the team’s energy and alignment are holding.
- In leadership transitions, to give new leaders a clear read on team engagement and risk readiness.
- To orient teams in their cycle of change, and guide next steps in developments
Together, QO₂ and Team Signals help teams move forward with clarity, resilience and purpose, linking engagement insights with targeted action.
Get Started with QO2
To access the QO₂ you can enlist the services of one of our associates who are accredited in the profile, or you can become accredited to deliver a QO₂ debrief yourself.
Through an Accredited Practitioner gain access to TMS Global, our product delivery platform
- Answer the QO₂ Questionnaire
- Read your QO₂ report
- Attend a debrief with your Accredited Practitioner
Our other profiles
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Building Capable Teams: COLLABORATE
The Team Management Profile (TMP) is a science-based feedback tool designed for personal, team, and leadership development. It integrates work-focused feedback to help individuals understand their work styles and improve collaboration. Underpinned by models that combine work and people contexts, TMP offers a holistic view of work preferences, enhancing performance at individual, team, and organisational levels. By promoting understanding and leveraging personal insights, TMP fosters effective teamwork and high-performance environments.
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The Window on Work Values (WoWV) Profile is a comprehensive tool designed to enhance individual and team performance by aligning personal work values with organisational objectives. Measuring eight core value types—Individualism, Collectivism, Authority, Equality, Compliance, Empowerment, Independence, and Conformity—it provides detailed insights into individual motivations and behaviours. This understanding aids in identifying value alignment, addressing misalignment, and fostering team development through a customised Team Values Statement and Team Charter.
Linking Leader Profile (LLP|360)
Building Capable Leaders: LEAD
The Team Management Systems (TMS) view on leadership emphasises the importance of relationships. The Linking Leader Model identifies 13 essential Linking Skills across three levels: People Linking, Task Linking, and Leadership Linking. These skills are crucial for effective teamwork and leadership, ensuring sustainable high performance. The LLP|360 tool measures these skills and integrates them with established leadership theories, such as Transformational and Situational Leadership, to enhance leadership development programs.
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