Understand How Your Team Handles Change, Uncertainty and Complex Decision-Making
When making decisions, does your team see opportunity or threat? How resilient are they? How do they handle change? The QO2 Profile reveals the risk orientation driving your team’s response, so you can lead through uncertainty and transformation with clarity.
Change is constant. Restructures, market shifts, digital transformation, AI adoption, mergers – your team faces pressure from every direction. But here’s what most leaders miss: it’s not the change that derails teams, it’s how they respond to it. QO2 shows you whether your team naturally leans into risk or pulls away from it – and what to do about it.
The Challenge
You’ve launched a major initiative. Some team members charge ahead. Others raise concerns. A few freeze.
What you’re seeing is the manifestation of how people evaluate risk and envision possibilities. The QO2 Profile helps you understand how people respond to complexity, uncertainty and change. It identifies the psychological drivers behind resilience – the energy to pursue goals and the ability to generate multiple pathways forward.
In today’s environment, where adaptability, rapid decision-making and foresight are non-negotiable, QO2 provides a proven framework to:
- Strengthen personal and team resilience
- Improve decision-making under pressure
- Navigate ambiguity and transformation with confidence
QO2 explains why and shows you how to lead through it.
How QO2 Works
The Risk-Orientation Model
QO2 shows where you and your team put your energy when things are uncertain – do you see the possibilities or focus on the risks? It helps uncover how each person responds to challenge and change, and how resilient or cautious they’re likely to be.
Opportunities Focus
- Sees potential gains and possibilities
- Driven by “what we could achieve”
- Energised by potential
- Moves quickly toward action
Obstacles Focus
- Sees potential risks and constraints
- Driven by “what could go wrong”
- Energised by risk mitigation
- Moves carefully through analysis
The Five Subscales
QO2 measures risk orientation across five critical areas:
1. MTG Energy
Moving Towards Goals: The energy that gives you drive, determination and enthusiasm to formulate and achieve your goals
2. Multi-Pathways
Your ability to generate multiple possible pathways around obstacles when challenges arise
3. Optimism
A psychological resource that gives you a generalised expectancy that you will succeed in your endeavours
4. Fault-Finding
The effort you put into looking for potential problems, risks and what could go wrong
5. Time Focus
Whether you tend to focus on the future and potential or the past and proven paths when approaching work
Two Strategic Indices
Two summary indices to support leadership and team adaptability:
Handling Change Index
How effectively you navigate change and uncertainty based on your opportunity-obstacle balance
Resilience Index
Your capacity to recover from setbacks and maintain performance under pressure
Why This Matters
High Opportunity Focus without obstacle awareness = reckless decisions, missed risks, costly mistakes
High Obstacle Focus without opportunity awareness = paralysis, missed opportunities, slow execution and slow adaptation in a fast-moving business world
The best teams balance both
Result: QO2 shows you where your team sits and how to move forward.
What You Get with the QO2
Use Cases & Applications
For Change Leaders
Lead transformation with insight
How QO2 helps change leaders
- Measure change appetite at scale with anonymised data across whole organisations
- Segment results by level or department to spot patterns across teams and functions
- Anticipate where pushback will come from and plan for it
- Build change strategies that engage both opportunity-seekers and risk-mitigators
- Create communication approaches tailored to different risk orientations
For HR & L&D Leaders
Build resilient, change-capable organisations
How QO2 helps HR & L&D
- Assess organisational resilience and capacity to handle change
- Design leadership development that strengthens both risk awareness and opportunity thinking
- Equip leaders to build teams that recover fast and adapt intelligently
- Develop resilience as a measurable, strategic capability
- Use QO2 data to align talent, culture and change-readiness across functions and levels
For Consultants & Coaches
Elevate leadership effectiveness through risk-awareness and resilience
How QO2 helps practitioners
- Use QO2 to develop more self-aware, adaptive leaders
- Coach clients to understand how their risk orientation shapes decisions under pressure
- Replace vague “resistance” narratives with clear data on change and resilience preferences
- Offer evidence-based development plans grounded in measurable psychometrics
For Executive Teams
Build strategic decision-making capability
How QO2 helps executive teams
- Understand how risk orientation affects strategic choices at the highest level
- Prevent groupthink by ensuring board and C-suite discussions include both opportunity and risk voices
- Build executive resilience during times of sustained pressure
- Improve decision quality by leveraging both opportunity and obstacle perspectives
When to Use QO2
- Before major change: Establish a clear baseline of risk orientation and resilience across teams and leaders
- During transformation: Identify adaptation gaps and support behavioural shifts in real time
- Post-crisis or recovery phase: Assess resilience capacity and where sustained support is needed
- Strategic planning cycles: Ensure leadership teams have a balanced view of risk, caution and opportunity
- Mergers and acquisitions: Understand and reconcile differing organisational risk cultures before integration
- Leadership transitions: Equip new leaders with insight into their own change style and that of their teams
The Evidence Behind QO2
QO2 is grounded in rigorous research and meets the highest standards for psychometric assessment.
How QO2 Integrates with the TMS Global System
QO2 is most powerful as part of the complete TMS Global methodology.
Complete Team Insight
Understand how your team works, responds and performs.
Combine: TMP + QO₂ + Team Signals
How these products work together
- TMP clarifies work preferences and team role contributions
- QO2 shows how people approach goals, risk and uncertainty
- Team Signals diagnoses how the team is functioning right now
Result: A three-dimensional view of your team – who they are, how resilient they are and where to focus to improve effectiveness.
Targeted Leadership Development
Develop leaders against what their role actually requires.
Combine: TMP + LLP|360 + QO₂ + WoWV
How these products work together
- TMP highlights leadership style and energy across different types of work
- LLP|360 identifies which Linking Skills matter most and how effectively they are demonstrated
- QO2 adds insight into resilience, drive and decision-making under pressure
- WoWV reveals values and motivators shaping leadership behaviour and cultural fit
Result: Focused leadership development that targets the skills, behaviours and mindsets that will make the greatest difference.
Organisational Transition
Navigate change with less friction and more momentum.
Combine: TMP + QO₂ + WoWV
How these products work together
- TMP shows how work gets done, where gaps exist and how people collaborate during change
- QO2 explains how individuals and teams respond to uncertainty and how to bring them on the change journey
- WoWV uncovers the values driving engagement and resistance
Result: A shared, practical language for guiding teams through restructures, mergers, strategy shifts or growth – aligning work preferences, risk orientation and values to support sustainable change.
Success Stories
See how organisations are using QO2 to navigate change, build resilience and make better decisions.
TMS training is superb! I love that the QO2 taps into people's emotions… with such strong emphasis now on psychosocial health, I can see that this tool could be really useful to unpick issues around stress, overachievers, burnout etc.
The feedback for Leading Change and Thriving Through Change has been overwhelmingly positive and the content is absolutely hitting the mark with all levels of leadership.
In my previous role, I was able to use the QO2 Profile to gain useful insights into the ways Sales and Customer Service Staff reacted to external influences, how they addressed challenging customers and noting the type of development needs they required. Feedback from staff who had been profiled was very positive.
Get Started with QO2
For Organisations & Teams
Find a TMS Global Practitioner
Work with one of our 24,000+ accredited practitioners to bring QO2 to your team or organisation.
Speak with a TMS Global Expert
Navigating continuous uncertainty or major change? Let’s discuss how QO2 can help.
Download a Sample Report
See the depth and practicality of QO2 insights with a sample report.
For Consultants & HR Professionals
Get Accredited in QO2
Join 24,000+ practitioners globally. Gain lifetime QO2 accreditation, Portal access, resources and community with no annual renewal fees.
Already TMP Accredited?
Add QO2 accreditation to expand your diagnostic toolkit for change and resilience.
Free Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
How is QO2 different from personality assessments?
QO2 focuses specifically on risk orientation in work contexts – how you approach goals, challenges and change. It doesn’t measure personality traits. This narrow focus makes it highly actionable for change management, decision-making, leadership capability development and team dynamics.
Is high opportunity focus always better?
No. High opportunity focus can lead to reckless decisions, missed risks and costly mistakes if not balanced with obstacle awareness. The best teams have diversity of risk orientation – some people scanning for opportunities, others watching for risks. QO2 helps you build that balance intentionally.
Can QO2 predict how someone will perform under pressure?
QO2 includes a Resilience Index that indicates capacity to recover from setbacks and maintain performance under pressure. However, resilience is also influenced by context, support systems and experience. QO2 shows natural inclination and areas for growth or development.
Should we use QO2 before launching major change initiatives?
Yes. Understanding your team’s risk orientation before change begins allows you to tailor communication to different risk perspectives, anticipate where resistance will emerge and why, build change teams with balanced risk orientation and create a positive shared language around different views – avoiding labelling obstacle-focused people as “resisters.”
How long does the QO2 questionnaire take?
Most people complete it in 15-20 minutes. It’s self-paced and can be saved and resumed if needed.
Can teams with very different risk orientations work well together?
Yes, if they understand their differences and respect both perspectives. Without awareness, opportunity-focused people can see obstacle-focused people as “negative” or “blockers,” and obstacle-focused people can see opportunity-focused people as “reckless” or “naive.” QO2 reframes these differences as complementary, not conflicting.
Is QO2 validated and scientifically credible?
Yes. QO2 was reviewed by the British Psychological Society in 2006 and is grounded in TMS’s 40+ years of research. It meets rigorous psychometric standards for validity and reliability.
Can QO2 be used for hiring or selection?
No. QO2 is designed for development, not selection. It’s a tool for understanding existing teams and helping them work more effectively together, not for screening candidates.
How does QO2 relate to TMP?
TMP shows how people prefer to work (team roles, work preferences). QO2 shows how they approach risk and change. Together, they explain dynamics you’d miss with either tool alone. For example, a Thruster-Organiser (TMP) with high obstacle-focus (QO2) will drive action cautiously – very different from a Thruster-Organiser with high opportunity-focus.
What if my whole team is high opportunity-focus (or high obstacle-focus)?
Homogeneous teams make faster decisions but often make worse ones. If everyone is opportunity-focused, nobody’s watching for risks. If everyone is obstacle-focused, nobody’s pushing forward. QO2 helps you recognise this imbalance and either bring in diverse perspectives for critical decisions, intentionally assign devil’s advocate or opportunity scout roles, or develop greater flexibility in your current team.
Change is Hard. Leading Through It Doesn’t Have to Be.
The teams that navigate change well understand how their people naturally respond to risk – and they lead accordingly.
- See beyond “resistance” to root causes
- Build teams with balanced risk orientation
- Make better decisions by leveraging diverse perspectives
- Lead with confidence through uncertainty
Whether you’re leading a merger, restructure or transformation, building change-ready leadership capability, navigating crisis or sustained pressure, or helping clients manage organisational change – QO2 turns confusion into clarity so you can act with confidence.