As organisations grapple with the dual challenge of accelerating innovation while maintaining operational efficiency and excellence, a new diagnostic approach is emerging as a powerful tool for unlocking untapped performance. The “Three Communities Diagnostic”! It’s redefining how leadership teams think about capability, team composition, and scalable growth.
Developed by our business psychologist experts, the framework is gaining traction across sectors, from banking to hospitality, as a way to decode the human dynamics that underpin business strategy.
At its core, the diagnostic breaks down team capability into three distinct archetypes: Disruptors, Scalers, and Executors. We believe that these communities are not job roles or hierarchies, but modes of operating that exist in every organisation, often hidden in plain sight.
Rethinking Team Design: Disrupt, Scale, Execute
The best-performing organisations don’t just have great people, they have the right mix of people doing the right things, at the right time. We propose that they are members of the three communities.
The diagnostic draws on over 30 psychometric markers, combining intrinsic traits (developed in early life and largely stable) with externally observed behaviours shaped by experience. By surveying a team or organisation-wide population, the tool maps individuals’ dominant behavioural patterns into one of the three communities:
- Disruptors are the idea generators: innovative thinkers who challenge orthodoxy, generate fresh thinking, and operate comfortably in ambiguity. They energise teams with new approaches, but can lose momentum without structure.
- Scalers act as strategic integrators: translating novel ideas into repeatable models, building systems, and embedding structure that enables execution. They bridge the conceptual with the operational.
- Executors are disciplined doers: reliable, precise, and focused on delivering results. They create stability and consistency but may resist change or overlook longer-term possibilities.
The power of the model lies not in categorising individuals, but in helping leaders recognise what’s missing in their team configurations and decision-making ecosystems.
From Insight to Action
The Three Communities Diagnostic offers more than descriptive insight—it equips organisations with structured playbooks to act on the data. After completing the diagnostic, leadership teams typically engage in a guided debrief to:
- Identify strengths and behavioural gaps
- Rebalance team composition where needed
- Create experiences to develop underrepresented behaviours (especially in Scalers)
- Use community data to guide recruitment, leadership development, and succession planning
Importantly, the process is designed to be low-touch and high-impact: the survey takes only 15–20 minutes, and insights can be scaled across teams, departments, or your entire organisation.
Building the Case for Behavioural Team Design
The implications extend far beyond team dynamics. By aligning human behaviour with strategic intent, organisations can move from reactive performance management to proactive capability design.
“Business transformation isn’t just about systems or strategy, it’s about people doing the right things,” says Lubna Haq. “The Three Communities Diagnostic gives leaders the blueprint to make that happen.”
For organisations looking to innovate without chaos, execute without burnout, and scale without stalling, this behavioural lens offers a fresh way forward.