The Benefits of a 360-degree Leadership Assessment
Too often, a 360-degree leadership assessment is something that the leadership team goes through to check off a box on their to-do list. An assessment is conducted, the leader reads it, and it goes in a drawer never to be used again.
In reality, a 360-degree review can be the single most powerful way for a leader to understand their leadership style, not just from their own point of view, but from the perspective of their peers and those they lead.
When done correctly, a 360-degree assessment provides honest, actionable feedback about a leader’s style and the opportunities they have for improving their skills.
So, let’s discuss not simply what a 360-degree leadership assessment is and the benefits of doing one, but how to evaluate a good tool and how to use them.
What is a 360-degree Leadership Assessment?
A 360-degree assessment tool is a consciously-designed feedback system for leaders whose skills as a leader, manager, and executive are reviewed by a team of their colleagues typically above, below and as peers in an organization. Those colleagues deliver frank feedback on the individual’s style and skills. The subject of the 360 evaluation uses that feedback to adjust how they manage, filling gaps and strengthening weaknesses.
In the end, a 360-feedback tool is a powerful way for a leader to get a consensus-driven perspective of themselves, their skills, and their weaknesses. The wise leader uses this information to change their behavior, increase their skills, and become a stronger leader for everyone in the organization.
The Benefits of a 360-degree Leadership Assessment
Increases Self-awareness
The only way to improve one’s skills is to be self-aware. One needs to be aware of the differences between what they think they’re doing as a leader and how they’re perceived by others. How one is perceived creates the responses one gets. Those responses are the results of one’s performance and are really all that matters.
With 360-degree feedback from a group of colleagues, a leader understands how they’re perceived, thus how their instructions and ideas are responded to. This creates an awareness that can lead to changes in behavior. Those changes should be directed at forging stronger teams and increasing effectiveness as a leader.
Reduces Bias
Every survey or questionnaire has inherent bias. Every response to them also has its own biases. By taking the opinions of several colleagues in aggregate, personal biases are washed out and the result of a 360-degree review is that it’s more honest and accurate about a leader’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
In an article from Harvard Business Review by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, the authors recommend at least a dozen peers to provide reviews and assessments. This type of broad, team-based assessment will deliver a consensus opinion that can be relied upon to provide the maximum benefit for the team and the organization.
The other bias that can be overcome with a proper 360-degree feedback tool is the leader’s own biases. Each of us perceives ourselves a certain way. By having an objective look from the outside, we’re able to see how our actions are really seen and make changes accordingly.
It’s also worth noting that even inaccurate perceptions can be useful if they cause us to take a new look at our behaviors. Most of us can probably remember an occasion when we were wrongly characterized by someone, and yet, paradoxically, it led to valuable self-reflection.
Develops New Skills
After a 360 review is completed, it creates opportunities for one to develop or learn new skills. If the feedback of a technology manager is that they don’t fully understand working in C++, they can (and should) take the time to learn that computer language better. If they receive feedback that they aren’t skilled with communicating deadlines on projects well, they can focus on that area through awareness.
A well-done 360-degree evaluation will provide the direction for growing oneself in both hard and soft skills, both as a leader and as a member of a team.
Creates a Culture of Openness
It’s empowering to have your leaders ask for honest reviews. It’s even more empowering when you see them act on the feedback they receive. If a team asks for 360 leadership assessments and those beneath them can see a change in behavior and an effort being made to learn new skills, it creates a feeling that opinions are not only asked for, but respected.
Many of us will say we want constructive feedback, but for many, the very word “feedback” connotes something negative. It takes time for people to realize that feedback can be an extremely valuable gift to them and is not painful when it is sought and received on a regular basis. The more often it is received, the more comfortable we are with it.
Build Stronger Teams
These factors create stronger teams as was mentioned above. The team has delivered its feedback and seen that feedback taken seriously and acted upon. That respect will instill loyalty in the team members, creating bonds that make the whole organization stronger.
This loyalty also increases team members’ commitment to doing the best job they can. This leads to increased efficiency, reductions in loss and downtime, and a higher awareness of how their actions affect the team.
Personal and Organizational Performance Development
As an HR manager or executive leader, you may discover what keeps employees from working successfully together and how your organization’s policies, procedures, and resources affect employee success. Using the assessment broadly across leadership pools is one of the best methods for understanding personal and organizational developmental needs in your organization.
Making a 360-degree Leadership Assessment Simple
The most important thing for any leader to understand is that it’s unnecessary to reinvent the wheel with 360 reviews and assessments. Because the goal is to glean measurable, actionable information, these assessments can typically be purchased as an off the shelf assessment tool. Strong leadership assessment tools will cover key areas of leadership including management style, communication and personal effectiveness.
A strong tool will allow for some customization of questions so that the assessment resonates with your organization. It is imperative that you review the categories that an assessment tool delves into, in order to make sure it is applicable to your talent pool and will lead to on point feedback. Having a tool that allows for open ended responses may also provide invaluable feedback.
But simply looking at the questions within the assessment is not enough. When you review assessment tools, ensure that the final report you receive is easy to read and takes full advantage of the information gathered. Many reports fail to show trends or utilize difficult to understand graphing methods. The intention of doing this assessment is to create deeper awareness of your leader- not to determine who can best pull apart graphical representations. The report can become a “user guide” for a leader as they focus on areas where they have great success in (keep doing this action) and areas they need to enhance (do less of this action).
Using the 360 Degree Leadership Assessment as part of a Leadership Development Plan?
According to Stan Silverman, a Harvard trained leadership development coach and author, “A major responsibility of every boss is to assess the performance of the individuals who report to them and provide feedback on strengths and areas for improvement. Feedback should be periodic during the year, thanking the employee for a job well done and offering coaching when improvement is needed.” He goes on to give the opinion that even if an outside firm conducts the interviews, (the) boss should also receive the report to understand how the employee is interacting with their direct reports and their peers.
Used most effectively, the 360-degree feedback system can be a highly integral part of a managers continuing development. A 360 is highly effective as a development tool. The feedback process gives people an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback to a coworker that they might otherwise be uncomfortable giving. Feedback recipients gain insight into how others perceive them and have an opportunity to adjust behaviors and develop skills that will enable them to excel at their jobs.
Nicole Nadeau is a Leadership Coach and HR consultant. Over the course of her practice she has developed a unique, scalable Leadership Assessment tool. The HR Ignite 360 Leadership Assessment Tool changes the way organizations can administer and use a 360 coaching tool. It is designed to work with any size organization looking for the ability to immediately use the tool to help support leaders. The HR Ignite 360 Leadership Assessment Tool eliminates the need to install any system platform, avoids complexity & offers a simple self-administered approach. Find out more by visiting www.HRIgnitellc.com
