Professional Leadership Journal – Narcissism and Machiavellianism Assessments

According to Nahavandi (2012), personalities with an elevated score on the scale are relaxed using several resources to accomplish their individual aims. The Machiavellian (Mach) scale measures an individual’s willingness to put self-interests and his or her preferences above the interests of the group and a person’s ability to influence and manipulate others for personal gain (Nahavandi, 2012).

An individual with a high Mach score might have an absence of morality and truthfulness and both of these are necessities of operative management. As I completed the two different assessments, I was astonished by my results. I completed the Machiavellianism Assessment first, I scored a 23 and according to the text an average score is 24. My score shows that I score within the average range and that I am willing to put my self-interests aside and work as a group to reach a goal.

I then completed the Narcissism assessments and scored a 118, which completely shook me, I’ve never considered myself a narcissistic person, but according to this data I am in fact that way. Narcissistic people love the idea of having power over people, but I am the total opposite, I would rather be a team player than a leader. But I do have some of the traits that constitute me as a narcissist. As a future public health leader, my Machiavellianism Assessment should be high and my Narcissism assessment should be low.

In any public health situation being able to put your self-interests to the side helps to alleviate unwanted stress and it also helps to analyze the situation carefully. Nahavandi (2012) states that positive narcissistic leaders may have an exaggerated sense of self and entitlement, but they use their self-confidence, power, and influence to achieve goals, much the same way a moderate Machiavellian would. This seems more like what I strive to do in my life and in my work life.