Key Concepts
How Protu thinks about behaviour and what the key terms mean.
Markers
Section titled “Markers”Markers are the 10 dimensions Protu uses to measure working style.
| Marker | What it captures |
|---|---|
| Growth Mindset | Orientation toward learning, embracing challenges, and development |
| Leadership | Ability to guide, influence, and inspire others |
| Creativity | Novel ideas, innovative thinking, and exploring possibilities |
| Open-mindedness | Receptiveness to different perspectives and tolerance of ambiguity |
| Accountability | Ownership, follow-through, and personal standards |
| Perseverance | Persistence, focus, and resilience under pressure |
| Social Awareness | Reading social dynamics, empathy, and interpersonal skills |
| Teamwork | Collaboration, relationship building, and group contribution |
| Transparency | Open communication, honesty, and information sharing |
| Self-awareness | Understanding own emotions, strengths, and limitations |
There’s no “good” or “bad” pattern; different roles and teams benefit from different combinations.
Submarkers
Section titled “Submarkers”Submarkers are the 80+ granular behaviours beneath markers. For example, under Teamwork: Collaboration, Communication, Inclusivity, Conflict resolution, Support. Markers give you the big picture; submarkers give you the detail.
Levels
Section titled “Levels”Impact Levels
Section titled “Impact Levels”Where someone currently sits in each dimension:
| Level | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Exceptional | Among the strongest in this dimension |
| 4 | Standout | Notably strong, often visible to others |
| 3 | Established | Solid capability, continuing to develop |
| 2 | Developing | Building capability, room to grow |
| 1 | Starting | Early stage, significant growth opportunity |
Influence Styles
Section titled “Influence Styles”Every person has a dominant influence style: the way they naturally affect those around them. No style is better than another.
| Style | How they influence |
|---|---|
| Catalyst | Direct, transformative, visionary; sparks change and challenges conventional thinking |
| Supercharge | Energising, momentum-building; activates others and drives pace |
| Optimise | Relational, connecting, harmonising; builds bridges and strengthens relationships |
| Enable | Facilitating, adaptive, space-creating; helps others do their best work |
| Support | Grounding, stabilising, structural; provides consistency and reliability |
Impact shows current strength. Influence style shows how someone expresses that strength. Together, they give you a complete view of how someone works.
Behavioural Energy
Section titled “Behavioural Energy”Protu’s composition model maps team behaviour across two fundamental dimensions: cohesion (how tightly a team aligns) and adaptability (how flexibly it responds to change). This is informed by several areas of research, including work on collective intelligence, which shows that team performance depends not just on individual capability, but on how those capabilities combine and interact.
All 10 markers contribute to this picture in different ways. Rather than sorting markers into fixed categories, Protu analyses how they balance across your team to surface strengths, gaps, and opportunities.
Profile Insights
Section titled “Profile Insights”- Influences Through: Submarkers where someone scores notably higher than peers (top 15%+)
- Engage For: Situations where someone’s strengths make them particularly valuable (e.g., “Engage Sarah when decisions are stalling”)
Team Intelligence
Section titled “Team Intelligence”When 3+ team members complete assessments, you unlock Team Intelligence: insights about how the team works as a unit.
- Composition: The behavioural makeup of your team across all markers
- Dynamics: How individual patterns interact, where influence flows
- Gaps and Strengths: Where your team lacks or has strong coverage
- Bridges: People who belong to 2+ teams, connecting them through information flow and coordination
See the full Team Intelligence guide for details.
Intelligence Surfaces
Section titled “Intelligence Surfaces”Protu’s intelligence is spread across four connected views. Clicking names, teams, or insights links between them; there are no dead ends.
| Surface | What it shows | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Team Summary | Headline intelligence, stability, hiring pipeline | Quick team health check |
| Team Intelligence | Full composition, dynamics, scenarios, trajectory | Deep team analysis |
| Employee Profile | Individual patterns, growth opportunities, related profiles | Manager view of a person |
| Employee Insights | Personal profile with trait deep-dives | Employee’s own self-view |
Protu’s Approach
Section titled “Protu’s Approach”Discovery, not declaration: Protu discovers patterns from behaviour rather than asking you to label teams or categorise people.
Comparison, not fit: When evaluating candidates, Protu shows how they’d change your team, not just whether they “fit.” Depending on the situation, you may want someone similar to the existing team or someone who brings something new.
Insights over scores: Numbers are available when you need them, but Protu emphasises what they mean and what to do about it.
Transparency: Every insight shows what it’s based on. Click any marker to see submarkers, any insight to see the data. No black boxes.
The Assessment
Section titled “The Assessment”A 15-20 minute conversational experience. No right or wrong answers: it captures how people respond, not just what they say.
Your responses produce 80 submarker scores, which aggregate into 10 markers and an influence style classification. This process (responses to submarkers to markers to influence style to insights) is what makes Protu’s profiles detailed enough to be useful.
Learn about the science in Principles.
Glossary
Section titled “Glossary”| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bridge | An employee on 2+ teams, connecting them |
| Candidate | Someone being assessed for a role |
| Confidence level | How reliable Team Intelligence is (High/Moderate/Limited) |
| Cohesion | How tightly a team aligns in its behavioural patterns |
| Employee | A team member who has completed (or been invited to) an assessment |
| Engage for | Situations where someone’s strengths are valuable |
| Impact level | Behavioural strength (Exceptional → Starting) |
| Influence style | How someone naturally influences others (Catalyst, Supercharge, Optimise, Enable, Support) |
| Marker | One of 10 high-level behavioural dimensions |
| Role | A hiring position you’re recruiting for |
| Scenario | A “what-if” simulation of adding, removing, or replacing someone |
| Adaptability | How flexibly a team responds to change |
| Influences through | Submarkers where someone scores notably higher than peers |
| Submarker | One of 80+ granular behaviours within markers |
| Team Intelligence | Aggregate insights about how a team works together |
| Trajectory | How a team’s patterns are changing over time (converging, diverging, strengthening, fragmenting) |