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    Interactive assessment

    Connection, Clarity, Capability Audit

    Assess your current practice across the three dimensions of leading an augmented team: Connection, Clarity and Capability.

    This audit looks at three adaptive challenges leaders face as AI becomes part of how their teams work. Frontline leaders are three times more likely than executives to express concern about AI (DDI, 2025), yet most leadership development in this area focuses on organisational strategy rather than individual leader practice. This audit helps you identify where your leadership is strongest and where to focus your development.

    Questions or items
    15 questions or items
    Completion time
    Around 9 minutes
    Dimensions
    Connection, Clarity, Capability
    What you receive
    Personalised results with result bands, section scores and development guidance.

    What it covers

    • Connection
    • Clarity
    • Capability

    Rate each statement from 1 (Rarely or never) to 5 (Consistently and well). Be honest: the audit is most useful when it reflects your actual practice rather than your intentions.

    Results: Personalised results with result bands, section scores and development guidance.

    How this interactive diagnostic works

    Read what it covers here first. Nothing is saved or sent until you continue. Your result is calculated once every required item is answered.

    If it asks for your first name and work email, you enter them in the diagnostic itself. This page sends nothing.

    Statements in this diagnostic

    Statements are grouped by section. Answer each one for the situation named in the instructions, using the scale shown.

    Connection

    Relational trust, psychological safety, and the courage to lead openly through uncertainty. Xu et al. (2025) found that ethical leadership is the primary protective factor against the psychological harm of AI adoption; this dimension develops that capability.

    1. I hold honest team conversations about how augmented working is changing our area, naming both the opportunities and the anxieties
    2. I share my own learning edges and uncertainties about AI openly with my team, rather than projecting confidence I do not have
    3. When a team member resists a new tool or way of working, I approach it with curiosity about their specific barriers rather than pressure or assumption
    4. My team has an agreed approach for when AI recommendations and human judgement differ
    5. I act visibly on concerns my team raises about AI adoption, so that speaking up is worth the effort

    Clarity

    Transparent communication, role definition, and expectation setting in augmented workflows. When AI handles part of a workflow, accountability must be made explicit; it does not emerge automatically (Buell and Kagan, 2026).

    1. I have mapped at least one key workflow with my team to show clearly which tasks are automated and which require human judgement
    2. My team knows who is accountable for the final output of AI-assisted processes in our area
    3. I communicate regularly and honestly about how augmented working is affecting roles, priorities, and workload in my team
    4. Each team member can clearly describe how their role is evolving alongside AI, and I have addressed any gaps or misconceptions
    5. There is a clear, documented escalation pathway for when AI outputs seem wrong, uncertain, or raise concerns

    Capability

    AI fluency, orchestration skills, and building team competence for augmented working. 85% of desk workers are learning about AI entirely outside of work, and 59% cite inadequate organisational support as a barrier (EY, 2025). Capability is the dimension that changes this.

    1. I dedicate protected time to developing my own understanding of AI tools relevant to my function
    2. I identify which repetitive tasks in my team's workflow could be augmented and ensure appropriate human oversight is defined
    3. I create peer learning opportunities where more confident team members share AI skills with less confident colleagues
    4. I run regular team retrospectives on how augmented working is going, focusing on what worked, what failed, and what to develop next
    5. I approach AI experimentation in my team as a learning process, treating mistakes as information rather than failure

    How the result is read

    Your answers are totalled for each section and overall. Each total falls into one of the bands below.

    • Foundation, 15 to 33: Your practice across the three dimensions of leading an augmented team is at an early stage. Most leaders have not received specific development for this challenge, and the research is clear that AI adoption creates genuinely new leadership demands. The action planner gives you a structured monthly practice to build from. Start with Connection: hold one honest team conversation this week about how AI is changing your area. Name both the opportunities and the anxieties. Share your own uncertainty. That single action, done well, creates the foundation for everything else.
    • Developing, 34 to 48: You have genuine strengths across the three dimensions, and areas where your practice is less consistent. The most valuable next step is to look at your section scores and identify the lowest. For those areas, pick one specific action and make it your focus for the next four weeks. The practice is designed to be built incrementally; you do not need to transform everything at once. Focused improvement in your weakest dimension often unlocks progress in the others, because the dimensions are interconnected.
    • Practising, 49 to 63: Your leadership practice across Connection, Clarity and Capability is solid, with clear areas of strength and some dimensions you are still developing. You are likely doing this work well instinctively but without always naming it as deliberate practice. The value at this stage is in making your practice more intentional and consistent. Review your section scores to identify where you are strongest and where there are gaps. Consider how you can share your approach with other leaders in your organisation; leaders at this level of practice often have as much to teach as to learn.
    • Leading, 64 to 75: Your practice across Connection, Clarity and Capability is at a high level. You are demonstrating the kind of leadership that research shows is the primary protective factor for teams navigating AI adoption. The risk at this stage is assuming the work is done. The landscape is changing rapidly, and each dimension requires ongoing attention rather than one-time achievement. Consider whether you are actively modelling and sharing these practices with others; leadership at this level has organisational impact beyond your own team.

    Sources named in this diagnostic

    • Buell, R. and Kagan, J. (2026) What Leadership Looks Like in an Agentic AI World. Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.
    • DDI (2025) Global Leadership Forecast 2025. Development Dimensions International.
    • Edmondson, A. (2019) The Fearless Organization. Hoboken: Wiley.
    • EY (2025) EY Survey Reveals Majority of Workers Are Enthusiastic About Agentic AI. EY Newsroom.
    • Heifetz, R., Linsky, M. and Grashow, A. (2009) The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
    • McKinsey & Company (2026) Six Shifts to Build the Agentic Organization of the Future. McKinsey Organization Blog.
    • Xu, G. et al. (2025) The dark side of artificial intelligence adoption. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1).

    Where to take the next step

    Our leadership development programmes are bespoke, research-grounded and built around the human capabilities that drive lasting performance.

    Explore Leadership Development

    Frequently asked questions

    What does the Connection, Clarity, Capability Audit measure?

    This audit looks at three adaptive challenges leaders face as AI becomes part of how their teams work. Frontline leaders are three times more likely than executives to express concern about AI (DDI, 2025), yet most leadership development in this area focuses on organisational strategy rather than individual leader practice. This audit helps you identify where your leadership is strongest and where to focus your development.

    How many questions are in the Connection, Clarity, Capability Audit?

    It contains 15 questions grouped into 3 dimensions: Connection, Clarity, Capability.

    How is the Connection, Clarity, Capability Audit scored?

    Responses are totalled within each section and across the diagnostic, and each total falls into a result band.

    What happens after I complete the Connection, Clarity, Capability Audit?

    Once the required items are answered, you enter your first name and email to see your results: an overall interpretation, section scores and development guidance.

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