Take this quiz to gain deeper self-awareness and be able to answer two questions, what you're best at and what will give you purpose.
Part 1 will help you name your Genius and the way you work best along with providing you with your Genius name category. There are four potential Genius categories (Visionary, Driver, Builder, and Maximizer). Part 2 will help articulate your Purpose. This is a meaty 3 question quiz (est. 15-20 minutes of your time), but worth it!
Once you have the language to talk about your Genius and Purpose, confidence and clarity abound, and your life and career will never be the same. We are excited for you to get started!
Don’t forget to save your results by taking a screenshot as you go so you can reference them later. You can share them with your colleagues and add your Genius name certification to your LinkedIn profile.
Genius:
First some basic information so we can understand your background:
What is your individual and household income?
Think of the last few times you were intellectually in the zone, where the thinking and problem-solving that you were doing was energizing and fun, and you felt like you could do it for hours. Dissect each example in detail, and look for a theme or pattern. How best would you describe what was so fun about contributing to the end result? You were re-thinking what was possible (Visionary) (go to section a) You were creating a unique way to solve an existing problem (Driver) (go to section b) You orchestrated something being built from beginning to end that was tangible or intangible (Builder) (go to section c) You took something that existed before and improved it (Maximizer) (go to section d)
Once you've taken a screenshot or written down your Genius, continue the quiz to define your Purpose.
A. If the end result was re-thinking what is possible, which description below best articulates the process by which you got to that result?
Opportunity Excavator (Visionary): You created and saw endless opportunities and do this in almost any situation. You are best when you’re in constant ideation mode but there is no consistency to the ideas, it's for anything and everything. Innovative Idea Strategist (Visionary): You first had a big problem to solve, then you created innovative ideas that would solve that specific problem while forging a new path in thinking or ways of operating. Possibility Architect (Visionary): The idea that something may be impossible was a starting point for your thinking. You are intellectually fired up by the act of tackling seemingly impossible problems and then creating and building rare solutions. Vision Strategist (Visionary): You were able to see how things can be done differently and you loved instigating change. You especially love when that change relates to movements, shifting society, or re-thinking big ways of operating. You’re exceptional at creating a vision and outlining the steps needed to achieve that vision. Re-engineering Visionary (Visionary): You were envisioning how something (an object, product, or entity) could be re-engineered. You like to do the thinking involved but want to hand over the actual execution of it to someone else. Visionary Insight Excavator (Visionary): You were synthesizing information and seeing patterns. You were then drawing conclusions and insights from those patterns and creating a hypothesis, vision, or action as a result of them.
B. If the end result was creating a unique way to solve an existing problem, which description below best articulates the process by which you got to that result?
Analytical Solution Strategist (Driver): You were pulling back the curtain on small and large problems and solving them by using logic and analytics. Possibility Strategist (Driver): You were thinking big and creating unique solutions from something basic. You thrive in the detailed and tactical process of then building solutions that have never been thought of before. Teaching Strategist (Driver): You were achieving a result through teaching and helping others learn. The way in which you guide someone from not knowing something to knowing is an ever-evolving process. Crisis Problem-Solver (Driver): You were solving problems that occur in a crisis. Your ability to stay calm in the face of a storm is key to creating instant solutions. Needle Finder (Driver): You were finding solutions that are extremely hard to dream up. Collaboration Strategist (Driver): You were bringing people together in order to solve a problem and create a solution. Connection Catalyst: (Driver) You were creating the connections that will surface a variety of solutions. Complex Solution Strategist (Driver): You were given a complex and exceptionally challenging problem to solve. You adapt the process of getting to a solution based on the problem at hand. Insights Excavator (Driver): You were synthesizing information and seeing patterns. You were then drawing conclusions and insights from those patterns that resulted in finding a solution.
C. If the end result was orchestrating something being built from beginning to end that was tangible or intangible, which description below best articulates the process by which you got to that result?
Deal Conductor (Builder): You were managing multiple work streams at the same time in rapid formation, while working toward a common high-impact result. Design Architect (Builder): You were devising unique ways to create a design. It’s in the creative process of design that you thrive. Experience Producer (Builder): You were creating a sensory experience, such as an event (versus a tangible product). Innovative Rebuilder (Builder): You were taking something apart and rebuilding it into something that works better. Language Architect (Builder): You were creating a powerful message by putting words together that make something compelling. Growth Architect (Builder): You were taking something and growing it. It’s energizing for you to take on a variety of growth challenges and come up with solutions that allow a business, industry or person to expand.
D. If the end result was taking something that existed before and improving it which description below best articulates the process by which you got to that result?
Chaos-to-Order Problem-Solver (Maximizer): You were bringing order to chaotic situations. The way in which you do this varies in process, systems, or collaboration. Efficiency Strategist (Maximizer): You were looking for ways to improve processes, people, and work by streamlining the way things operate. You are also constantly looking for ways to improve these factors by finding tools to understand and then utilizing them to make things more efficient. Good-to-Great Strategist (Maximizer): You were taking an existing process or way of operating from good to great. The key here is that you prefer to start with an existing process in order for you to do your best work. Team Maximizer (Maximizer): You were solving team efficiency problems that don’t have an obvious solution. The key here is that you’re working with people processes rather than systems. Freedom Architect (Maximizer): You were creating the systems that allow others to achieve solutions more effortlessly, thereby gaining freedom of time and energy. Re-engineering strategist (Maximizer): You were taking something (object, product, or thing) apart and re-thinking how it should operate going forward and then rebuilding it.
Purpose
My definition of Purpose is the impact that is most meaningful to you. In order to tap into intrinsic motivation, you need to connect to your psychology or understand a core emotional challenge in your past. This core emotional challenge can be revealed either in fulfilling moments or in the moments where you are most frustrated. You can take each approach with this question and see if you can find the results that match. Think about three of the most recent fulfilling moments you’ve experienced. These are moments when the impact you were having on other people was deeply meaningful to you. Think specifically about the impact you were having, and go deep. How did that response affect you emotionally? Or conversely, think of the last time you were extremely frustrated by someone’s actions. Think deeply about how that action impacted you. What was the specific feeling you had at that moment? Find the reverse of that feeling below (i.e. if you felt that your wants and needs didn’t matter, then you are fulfilled by helping others feel that their wants and needs matter).
You were helping someone feel seen and understood. Understood: helping others feel truly seen, heard, and known. Helping others feel seen and understood is meaningful for you because being understood by your family was something you struggled with throughout childhood. You were helping catalyze someone’s potential. Potential: being a catalyst for potential in others. You identify with this purpose if you were raised in an environment with parents that did not see or help you cultivate your potential. The net result is that you are endlessly fulfilled by being a catalyst through ideas, connections, or feedback to help others operate at their full potential. You were being a force of positivity. Positive: being a force of optimism. If you were raised in an environment that was often critical and negative, you are fulfilled by bringing positivity to as many situations as possible. You were creating an environment that allowed someone to thrive. Ideal environments: creating settings and situations that allow people to thrive. This purpose is rooted in a core challenge of being raised in an environment, especially at school or at home, that felt like the wrong fit. As a result, you love creating ideal environments for others to thrive in. You were providing someone with opportunities. Opportunities: creating multiple ways for someone to succeed. If your core emotional challenge was growing up with a lack of opportunities (financial or otherwise), creating opportunities for others offers great fulfillment. You were giving someone support (either emotional or physical, i.e. offering to help them). Support: empowering others to exceed their own expectations. You love supporting other people and helping them achieve great things. This is counteracting a childhood experience during which the bar for achievement was high and support wasn’t provided for you to reach that bar. You were helping someone to be bold. Be bold: helping others confidently be themselves. This core emotional challenge comes from a pattern of hiding yourself because of fear of rejection, or having grown up in an environment where who you are was not accepted. Therefore, helping others be bold about being who they are is extremely meaningful for you. You were helping someone to feel free. Free: helping others feel able to be their full selves, unrestricted. This core emotional challenge comes from feeling as though you were a burden on your family or feeling restricted from being fully expressed. As a result, it’s fulfilling to you to help someone else feel free, unencumbered, and able to thrive as they wish. You were helping someone to feel in control. Control: helping others feel in charge. If you felt inadequate and out of control in your early years due to an unstable home life or other events, it is likely that helping others feel in control and powerful is particularly meaningful to you. You were helping someone find their voice. Heard: helping others find—and share—their voice. This purpose might stem from the challenge of growing up in a family where there was little to no communication or a feeling that you weren’t heard. Helping others be open, find their voice, or fine-tune a message they need to share is endlessly fulfilling to you. You were helping someone honor their differences. Different: helping others follow a different path, rather than the expected path. If you have always been drawn to a different path but were discouraged from pursuing it, helping others take the road less traveled will be exhilarating. You were helping someone overcome irresponsibility. Irresponsibility: helping others be responsible and create a life that they want. This purpose comes from the core emotional challenge of dealing with the failings of others, most likely your parents or significant others. As a result, you are driven to help others be responsible. You were helping someone feel that they belong. Belong: helping people find a role in which they belong. You are fulfilled by helping people find the exact role in their workplace or life in which they will shine. You are fulfilled by this because your core emotional challenge has been about feeling as though you are not often in a place where you belong and trying to identify your own place in the world. You were helping someone feel accepted. Acceptance: making others feel accepted. You are fulfilled by being nonjudgmental and receptive to others because it’s connected to a core emotional challenge of feeling like you were not accepted by your family for being who you are. You were helping someone feel included. Included: making others feel like they belong. You enjoy helping others feel included. The reason for this is that your core emotional challenge was feeling left out, especially if you were a shy child and experienced times of feeling isolated. You were helping someone feel valued. Valued: making others feel respected and taken seriously. If you were raised in a family where who you are was not valued, you may have been encouraged to be someone that you weren’t. You, therefore, are fulfilled by helping others acknowledge and own their value. You were helping someone feel calm. Calm: helping others navigate chaos. If you had to navigate ongoing chaos throughout your childhood, you likely learned a unique skill of adaptation and being calm in the face of a storm. You are fulfilled by helping others navigate a hectic, fast-paced, or even disorganized workplace by being a voice of calm and reason. You were helping someone to be treated fairly. Fairness: promoting equity. A core emotional challenge growing up was that you felt unfairly disadvantaged or you did not get the same opportunities as others. This stuck with you, and as a result, being impartial and fighting for others to be treated fairly is not only meaningful but also fundamental to how you operate. You were helping someone understand that their wants and needs matter. Matter: helping someone see that their wants and needs are important. You are fulfilled by helping others see that their wants and needs matter because you know the pain of not having your wants and needs matter. Most likely you’ve spent most of your life prioritizing others’ needs over your own because you’ve internalized that your own doesn’t matter. You were helping someone feel visible. Standing out: helping others not feel invisible. You are fulfilled by helping individuals or organizations stand out. This is connected to a core emotional challenge of feeling invisible. It’s fulfilling for you to help others speak up and say what they are thinking.
