Your Power Quotient (PQ) measures the extent to which you understand and use your Power Style
to get what you want in life. Your job, your relationships, your status
— they're not just handed to you. Whether you recognize it or not, your
Power Style affects how you approach people, accomplish your goals, and handle just about every situation.
Your PQ indicates that you're already using 98% of your innate people-power skills. But you can still improve by %. Once you understand more about your Power Style, there's nothing stopping you from becoming a true force of change in your world.
You are someone people look to for answers. You aren't afraid to speak
your mind and have no qualms about taking a leadership role. This is
because you believe that you alone are responsible for your own
successes and failures. The phrase if you want something done, you have
to do it yourself is one you most definitely take to heart.
You have the rare talent for seeing what you have control over and what you do not. For example, you can't control whether or not your boss likes you, but you can
control whether or not you do a good job at work. Because you recognize
what is in, and beyond your control, you are not apt to waste time and
energy worrying about your boss's moods and how you can please them.
Instead, you save your time and focus for areas you can truly impact.
When communicating your needs, you don't beat around the bush. You know
what you want, and how to ask for it. The same goes for how you act on
things: simply and directly. You understand your goals — a new job, a
potential date, a new car — and you like to take the clearest route
possible to achieve them. Your blunt, no-nonsense style and your
ability to get the job done commands the respect and admiration of
those around you.
This graph breaks down the five dimensions that make up your Power Quotient. Each one plays a role in determining both your overall PQ score and Power Style. Understanding and strengthening these five dimensions is the key to raising your PQ.
Credit
Blame
Control
Directness
Tact
1
5
10
The first three dimensions — credit, blame, and control — are based on the following questions: When things are going well, to what extent do you take credit for success? To what degree do you blame others for the negative things that happen? Do you believe that you, or external forces, have control over events in your life?
The last two dimensions — directness and tact — refer to the relative number and kinds
of strategies you have, and the frequency with which you utilize them.
Are you more inclined to confront someone when you have a problem or
are you going to find another way to get your point across?
Credit
While success is what everyone strives for, actually attaining it
affects people differently. Some credit their successes to a higher
power, while others regard their achievements simply as the product of
hard work.
The "Credit" graph measures to what extent you think outside
influences have created whatever happiness and success you currently
possess. Your score is also a reflection of how you view achievement in
general.
Your Credit Score
Out of 10, your tendency to attribute successes to external influences is a 9:
Credit
1
5
10
What does this mean? Your
score indicates that you have a greater tendency than most to attribute
the positive events in your life to external influences. This means
that there are times when you question whether your successes are due
to your own worthiness or due instead to some other factor. While you
recognize that you have played a role in creating happiness in your
life, you find it probable that outside influences — luck, God, the
weather, whatever — have played equal or greater roles.
Blame
Bad things happen to everyone, but not everyone interprets them in the
same way. Some people consider all of their problems self-made, while
others see outside forces — bad luck, bad karma, bad weather — acting
against them.
The "Blame" graph looks at where you commonly assign responsibility for
"negative" events in your life. Your score determines to what extent
you think external influences have created unhappiness in your past and
present. Your score is also a reflection of how you view negativity and
failure in general.
Your Blame Score
Out of 10, your tendency to put blame on external forces is a 8:
Blame
1
5
10
What does this mean? Your
score indicates that you have a greater tendency than most to attribute
your unhappiness to external influences. Most of the time, it seems
that your problems stem from outside of yourself, through no fault of
your own. This has made you keenly aware that no matter how hard you
try, chance always plays a role. Your experiences have probably made
you somewhat more cautious than most people.
Control
Navigating life requires us to constantly interpret our surroundings.
We instinctually believe some things to be outside of our control, or
driven by our environment, while others we see as directly under our
influence.
The "Control" graph measures to what degree you view chance or fate as
having played a role in your life thus far. Your score also sets the
tone for how you approach life, and how much influence you believe you
have on others.
Your Control Score
Out of 10, your tendency to believe that you are in control of life events is a 7:
Control
1
5
10
What does this mean? Your
score indicates that you have a very balanced view regarding the role
of control in your life. There are times when you feel as though your
choices and outcomes have been externally controlled, the result of
chance or fate. However, there are also times when you understand you
have arrived at your current place primarily through your own efforts.
On the whole, you seem to have found a balance between these two
extremes. This implies that you take a calculated approach rather than
let your personal biases rule your judgments. You see clearly the
limitations of your own actions.
Recognizing that your life is fundamentally under your own control is
an important step towards increasing your PQ. While this is something
you may already understand intellectually, your score indicates that
perhaps it's not a concept you've fully adapted yet.
Try to focus on those areas of your life, which are, to some degree,
under your control. Think about the far-reaching effects that could
arise from applying your influence in any one of these areas. This may
include children, relationships, work, etc. Your sphere of influence is
largely what you make of it. Keep this in mind, and you will shift the
role chance seems to play in your life.
Shifting the Role of Control in your Life
Construct
a list of the aspects of your life that you have direct control over
(your performance at work, the way you treat your significant other,
etc.).
Construct
a list of the aspects of your life that you have an indirect influence
over (the development of your children, the choices of your friends,
etc.).
Construct
a list of the aspects of your life that you have a slight or occasional
influence over (political functions, social movements, etc.).
Track
and recognize the extent of your reach in life, and resolve to use your
power to better everything within your sphere of influence.
Directness
The "Directness" graph measures how many direct power strategies you
have at your disposal. In their most positive form, direct strategies
are assertive and straightforward. Everyday examples include a firm
handshake, an honest compliment and simply asking for what you want.
Essentially, they are a form of give and take. At one end of the
spectrum, direct strategies can take the form of extreme taking — theft
and violence — and at the other end they can be extremely giving —
altruism and charity. The more common ones, of course, fall somewhere
in between.
Your "Directness" score determines the relative number of direct power strategies you have at your disposal.
Your Directness Score
You are using 10 out of 10 direct power strategies:
Directness
1
5
10
What does this mean?
This implies that you're full of direct strategies and you're quite
accustomed to utilizing them. You understand how to be straightforward
with a recognizable level of skill, and you most likely prefer overt
methods to other, subtler strategies. In situations where others might
shy away from speaking their minds and being forthright, you find it
only natural to act as such.
Tact
The "Tact" graph measures how many subtle power strategies you have
available and how often you use them. Subtle strategies can define
office politics and intimate relationships. Understated hints, telling
body language and quiet but firm communication are all examples of
subtle power strategies. At one end of the spectrum, subtle strategies
can take the form of passive-aggressiveness and emotional manipulation
and at the other end, they can be skilled diplomacy and heightened
empathy. The more common ones, of course, fall somewhere in between.
Your "Tact" score determines the relative number of subtle power strategies your have at you disposal.
Your Tact Score
You are using 9 out of 10 subtle power strategies:
Tact
1
5
10
What does this mean? This
implies that you're full of subtle strategies, and you're quite
accustomed to utilizing them. You understand how to be diplomatic with
a recognizable level of skill and you most likely prefer subtle methods
to other, more direct strategies. In situations where others might fail
at being appropriately subtle, you find it only natural to act as such.
Your score shows that you have the most room
for improvement in employing subtle strategies. One of the most
important strategies in gaining power is helping others to willfully
see your side of things. While part of this process is simply providing
an excellent and considerate argument, there are certain tactics that
can help ensure your success. An example of one is avoiding a typical
argument and having a "question and answer" period with the person
you're trying to convince.
Using Diplomacy
Focus on the common ground that exists between you and the person you're trying to convince.
Go out of your way to prevent the person you're trying to convince from saying "no" or anything negatively affirming.
Instead of making arguments, ask leading questions. Avoid plain assertions whenever possible.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt's most famous saying, "the only
thing we have to fear is fear itself" is very much in line with your
sense of personal responsibility. In essence, he encouraged Americans
to concentrate on what they could control — their emotional responses —
rather than wasting energy worrying about the things they could not
control — their environment (i.e. war). Roosevelt acknowledged the
importance of knowing and working with your personal limitations as a
means to gain influence.
In 1966, psychologist Julian Rotter developed the Internal/External
("IE") scale. The IE scale measures a person's willingness to attribute
the consequences of his or her actions to fate, chance, or some other
external source. Rotter called this the "locus of control," and his
research forms the foundation of the "responsibility" portion of the
Power Quotient test. As a behaviorist, Rotter believed that people were
conditioned to place their power either internally or externally, and
thus had the potential to change their locus of control. Subsequent
studies have borne out the importance of Rotter's observations, and all
manner of financial and social success has been strongly correlated
with an internal locus of control. In addition, locus of control
research has had an impact on school curricula, with some schools
looking to orient classes towards imbuing students with an internal
locus of control. Part of this effort is evident in the push towards
smaller classes, as research suggests the environment is conducive to
developing an internal locus of control.
The strategy portion of the Power Quotient test is built on
well-recognized and widely utilized methods to deal with people in a
skilled and responsible manner. Some of the strategies given have been
a part of best-selling books in personal self-improvement and business
dealings. See reference list for more information.
Rotter, J B. "Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement." Psychological Monographs, 80 (1966).
Rutter, R.A. "Effects of School as a Community." National Center on Effective Secondary Schools. (1988).
Walker, Morton. The Power of Color. Avery Publishing Group, 1991.
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. PocketBooks, 1994.
Covey, R. Steven. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt's most famous saying, "the only
thing we have to fear is fear itself" is very much in line with your
sense of personal responsibility. In essence, he encouraged Americans
to concentrate on what they could control — their emotional responses —
rather than wasting energy worrying about the things they could not
control — their environment (i.e. war). Roosevelt acknowledged the
importance of knowing and working with your personal limitations as a
means to gain influence. 
