Antifragility Advantage Diagnostic

Why it Matters

With so much uncertainty, change and adversity in the world, how we respond to these challenges is either a competitive advantage or a liability. Fragile leaders fray under this relentless pressure. They become resistant, disengaged, exhausted or cynical. Robust leaders stay strong. But some rare leaders respond to adversity by getting stronger. They get more engaged and more energised in the difficult moments and through the difficult times. Their energy lifts others up. This is what Antifragility looks like.

We've observed that antifragile people display two key qualities: Resilience (bounce back quickly) and Grit (keep going no matter what). For over 16 years, Shaun Kenny and Michelle Rushton (co-creators of the Leadership Engine platform) have helped thousands of leaders understand their resilience and grit and they've collected thousands of data points through this diagnostic.

Resilience

The ability to bounce back from adversity quickly.

Resilience

Buoyant, engaged, positive, but playing small.

Antifragility

Bouncing back from adversity better than you were before.

Fragility

Become worse under pressure and adversity.

Grit

Ambitious, driven, persistent, but an emotional rollercoaster.

Grit

The ability to keep moving forward to long-term goals regardless of adversity.

What it measures

The Antifragility Advantage Diagnostic is a self-assessment. It covers elements that span simple behaviours to surprising, subtle behavioural responses to delving deep into people's psychology.

Resilience			Grit
Core question: How quickly and effectively do I recover from adversity? Impact: Maintaining performance, wellbeing and perspective under pressure.			Core question: How sustained is my passion and perseverance toward long-term goals? Impact: Staying the course when progress is slow and the path is difficult.
Sub-dimension	Focus area	Core question	Sub-dimension	Focus area	Core question
Rebound Routines	Behaviours	Do I have proven strategies to recover from setbacks quickly?	Perseverance	Behaviours	Do I persist through difficulty without giving up?
Positive Habits	Behaviours	Am I investing consistently in my physical and mental wellbeing?	Passion	Behaviours	Am I sustained by a clear purpose and long-term interest?
Optimism	Beliefs	Do I believe I have the power to shape my own future?	Growth Mindset	Beliefs	Do I believe my abilities can be developed through effort?
Explanatory Styles	Beliefs	How do I explain success and failure to myself?	Empowering Beliefs	Beliefs	Do I see adversity as a positive force for growth?

Who's it for

This diagnostic is powerful across the entire organisational hierarchy.

Executives Team Leaders People Leaders Individual Contributors

How it Works

Assessment Sources

Self-assessment

What you get

Diagnostic report

For the individual leader

✓Report – a beautifully presented, clear, detailed and practical report accessed through the Leadership Engine portal (or exported to PDF)
✓Future state – a clear vision of what an antifragile response looks like
✓Current state – a precise picture of how you habitually respond to pressure, setbacks and adversity
✓Gap – identification of the gap between your current response and a truly antifragile one
✓Insight – AI-powered insight informed by benchmarking data and personalised to your profile
✓Roadmap – specific development priorities for building your Resilience and Grit
✓Reinforcement – periodic behavioural nudges delivered to your inbox to reinforce and encourage specific, practical, continuous improvements

Dashboard

For the organisation

✓Clarity – a clear, beautifully presented dashboard depicting patterns across a cohort (individual identifiers removed)
✓Current state – see the spread of specific leadership behaviours and their impacts at a glance
✓Trends – track behavioural trends over time: the shifts in leadership behaviours and leadership impact
✓Insight – AI-powered insight informed by benchmarking data and personalised to this cohort
✓Roadmap – development priorities across the cohort, and the actions the organisation and executive can take

Operations Cohort

122 Division Leads

⚠ Low Resilience

Resilience59

Grit78

Key pattern: this cohort has grit and pushes through pressure, but resilience (recovery) lags — the lever for sustainable performance.

What you also get

Guidance from experts

Each personal profile is debriefed in a group workshop setting by Shaun Kenny or Michelle Rushton. This is usually part of a leadership development program, team offsite or at a leadership conference.

Shaun and Michelle are co-founders of the Leadership Engine platform and the leadership consultancy People of Influence. For over sixteen years, they have worked closely with leaders and their teams, helping them build the resilience and grit to respond to adversity and perform under pressure.

This diagnostic pairs with the Antifragility Advantage program that Shaun and Michelle deliver in leadership development programs, at team offsites and at conferences, helping leaders turn adversity into advantage.

Shaun Kenny

Co-Founder, People of Influence & Leadership Engine

Michelle Rushton

Co-Founder, People of Influence & Leadership Engine