To recap, my definition of a Productive Narcissist (PN) is someone who, on the one hand, possesses exceptional abilities – such as creativity, intellectual firepower or rainmaking prowess – and, on the other, pronounced narcissistic personality traits. PNs are notable for their sense of entitlement, excessive ego, self-absorption and constant need for attention and recognition.
If you’ve been in the workplace for any period of time, you’ve probably encountered someone who fits the description of a Productive Narcissist. In fact, you might have even hired the person yourself, unaware that certain personality traits would turn your star performer into a costly management “black hole.”
This month, highlighted by Presidents Day, naturally makes me think of presidents. Test your “Presidents IQ” with this 12- question leader quiz. The correct answers are provided below.
1. The National Park Service was created by an act signed by:
A. Ulysses Grant
B. Theodore Roosevelt
C. Woodrow Wilson
D. John F. Kennedy
2. Which President was a Rhodes scholar:
A. John F. Kennedy
B. Jimmy Carter
C. Woodrow Wilson
D. Bill Clinton
3. Which President never held office as a state’s governor?
A. George H.W. Bush
B. James Monroe
C. Calvin Coolidge
D. William McKinley
4. Which President extended the boundaries of the United States to the Pacific?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. James Polk
C. Theodore Roosevelt
D. Abraham Lincoln
5. Who was the youngest man to serve as President?
A. Andrew Jackson
B. John F. Kennedy
C. Theodore Roosevelt
D. James Madison
6. Which President said: “A president’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.”
A. Jimmy Carter
B. George Washington
C. Lyndon B. Johnson
D. Richard Nixon
7. The number of Presidents who received the Nobel Peace Prize is:
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
8. Who said: “The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.”
A. John F. Kennedy
B. Harry S. Truman
C. Dwight Eisenhower
D. Ronald Reagan
9. Which President achieved the highest electoral vote?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. George W. Bush
C. Gerald Ford
D. Ronald Reagan
10. Which President has issued the most executive orders?
A. George Washington
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. Franklin D. Roosevelt
D. Barack Obama
11. Who said: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you
want done because he wants to do it.”
A. Bill Clinton
B. James Madison
C. Dwight Eisenhower
D. Calvin Coolidge
12. Which President established the Environmental Protection Agency by executive order?
A. Richard Nixon
B. Lyndon Johnson
C. Gerald Ford
D. Jimmy Carter
Scroll down for the correct answers.
ANSWERS
1. A. Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service in 1916.
2. D. Bill Clinton.
3. A. George H.W. Bush never served as a state’s governor.
4. B. James Polk was President during the Mexican War (1846-48) which resulted in the U.S. gaining California.
5. C. Theodore Roosebelt was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901.
6. C. Lyndon B. Johnson.
7. D. Four: Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, Carter, and Obama.
8. B. Truman.
9. D. Reagan in 1984.
10. C. Franklin D.Roosevelt issued 3,728 orders between 1933 and 1945.
11. C. Eisenhower.
12. A. Nixon in 1970.
Ten or more correct? You really know your Presidents!
To execute brilliantly as a leader, you need to be operating in high-definition (HD) mode. By “high-definition” I mean that your goals, strategy and performance expectations are crystal-clear, vivid and compelling to yourself, your team and all other stakeholders. They also need to be able to stand up to close scrutiny. Therefore, your plans and explanations must crisply convey a high value proposition and an actionable path to success.
Complexity is a fact of management life in our interdependent global marketplace. Paradoxically, the more complex things become, the greater the need for leaders to be able to extract, focus and act on core essentials.
Thriving in complex times involves seven crucial leader performance areas. Do you consistently deliver in these areas?
