In my last blog I shared the benefits that a 360 Review Process can provide for leaders and their organizations. Leaders become more self-aware and identify areas for development, and organizations have a development roadmap to strengthen their leaders’ effectiveness.

This time I’d like to talk a little more specifically about the process, the resulting report and some examples of the insight the process provides.

I typically interview between seven and ten stakeholders including the subject’s immediate leader and others they identify. All stakeholders are asked the same questions which inquire about things like the person’s strengths, their leadership qualities, how effectively they communicate, key areas for development, biggest risk for derailment, etc.

I then consolidate and summarize the responses (keeping them anonymous) to identify:

• Strengths
• Blindspots/Possible Derailment Behaviors, and
• Development Recommendations

The 360 report includes a narrative of the consolidated responses, themes identified, a chart indicating how they scored in various leadership competencies (including self-scoring), and development recommendations.

When the report is complete, I meet with the leader and with their immediate leader (individually) to review the feedback and talk about next steps. I think it’s important to note that the 360 Review is not a “report card,” but a development tool. It’s designed to provide the leader with a better picture of how he or she “shows up” in the workplace and illuminate a path to becoming a more effective leader.

What’s important is that the leader is willing to hear, acknowledge and act on the 360 feedback.

Since effective communication is such an important leadership competency, and so many issues can be attributed to the lack of it, it’s probably the most frequently identified “area for improvement.” An example is the blindspot a leader had around creating an environment that encouraged two-way communication. Stakeholders indicated that they didn’t feel “heard” when they offered feedback or expressed their ideas. Another example is a leader who didn’t realize that because of the words he used and his manner of speaking he was perceived as having an unconscious bias. In both these cases, once the leader became self-aware of the pattern indicated by the feedback, they wanted to know how to correct the behavior.

And that brings me to the next step in the process. Acting on the feedback. On the final page of the report I provide a list of development opportunities with specific behaviors that can be improved in each area to become a more effective leader. And this often leads to a conversation about coaching.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization or about my executive coaching service, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.