What Makes a 360-Degree Review Successful?

Too many companies don’t take the 360-degree feedback process seriously enough. Often it goes like this: After shopping around and deciding on a 360-degree feedback instrument, talent professionals administer it to the colleagues of each participant. After aggregating the data, those same professionals send a summary report to the leader, who then reads through the report with some interest and puts it away. Sometimes, it’s never discussed again.

The outcome? Little, if anything, changes. The mindset of the leaders who received the feedback report isn’t altered. They don’t change their behavior toward others. In most cases, this process doesn’t do any damage (other than wasting time and money), but it’s a missed opportunity — for the leader and the company.

Organizations that take the process more seriously, of course, get much better results. The 360-degree feedback instrument itself may be exactly the same, but the way it’s administered is completely different. This approach stands in contrast to what we’ve described above — and is what we strongly recommend. Here are some of the key differences:

• The leader helps choose who among their colleagues should respond to the survey.
• The leader personally communicates with those respondents, asking them to provide their candid observations.
• The report is presented to the leader, either in a group setting (if multiple people are taking the instrument at the same time) or in a one-on-one coaching conversation.
• The leader is provided with context and guidance to understand the data.
• The leader also receives a customized set of developmental recommendations, mapped to the company’s leadership competencies, to help them create a personal development plan.
• There is follow-up from the talent professionals to ensure accountability.

There are many reasons to follow a process that looks more like this one. In our 30 combined years of helping organizations and leaders implement 360-degree feedback instruments, we’ve seen the following benefits of using this process.

Expanded self-awareness.

This is one of the most important outcomes of any feedback process. People with little self-awareness are often puzzled by the behavior of others toward them. They might wonder, “Why do people not include me in their casual conversations?” “Why do I end up in heated arguments?” “Why was I not chosen to lead this project? I know more than the person they selected.” When a 360-assessment is carried out as described above, the leader is able to compare their self-ratings to the ratings from others. Having ratings from multiple people (we recommend at least a dozen) provides greater evidence that this is much more than just one person’s opinion. Combined with accountability, this evidence serves as a strong impetus to change.

In our experience, leaders are sometimes pleasantly surprised by the differences between their own opinions of themselves and the observations of others. There are usually a few pieces of feedback that are confusing and cause the leader to question, “Why would someone think that?” All of this is part of the expansion of their self-awareness, as they learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. Their world makes more sense.

Reiteration of important messages.

Leaders who go through a serious 360-degree feedback process will often reflect on a comment or piece of feedback and say something to the effect of, “I’ve heard that before. My (husband/wife/partner/roommate) has told me that, but I didn’t think it was that important.” But now, when a dozen or more people collectively observe that the leader isn’t a good listener, for example, the message is louder and clearer. The 360-degree feedback process underscores the seriousness and credibility of the feedback.

The anonymity of process means that the feedback was given by colleagues with the understanding that they would be confidential. The result is far greater honesty and candor. And, we’re happy to say that after decades of conducting and reviewing thousands of 360-degree feedback reports, we almost never see messages that are intentionally barbed or mean-spirited.

Increased likelihood of change.

Improving your leadership effectiveness requires behavior change. A 360-feedback process, when done right, greatly increases the chances that change will occur. When leaders find out that others see them differently than they intend or want to be seen, they have a simple choice. Either they redefine how they see themselves, or they change their behavior. For example, if others tell me that I’m rigid and don’t listen to a different viewpoint, the next time I’m in a discussion about a controversial topic, I’m more inclined to catch myself and listen. And if I continue to argue and hold tight to my views, I’ll be faced with the realization that the others’ perceptions of me were correct.

There’s also an increased likelihood of change if several leaders go through this process together. Social reinforcement makes it easier for everyone involved to be more receptive to new ideas and feedback. This is the same reason that working with a coach can help a leader to change; the coach holds leaders accountable for their commitments to change their behavior, and follows up to see if they did.

Our research has shown that there are specific behaviors that are highly correlated with any competency a person is seeking to improve. For example, our data reveals that people who receive high scores on strategic thinking are far more prone to do the following:

• Visit their customers
• Emphasize innovative solutions
• Analyze trends
• Communicate with stories, illustrations, and parables
• Establish stretch goals

Correlation, we all know, does not prove causation; but knowing specific behaviors that go hand-in-hand with a competency you want to improve provides useful clues about non-obvious ways to become a better leader.

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