From the course: Foundations of Performance Management

Obtaining and benefiting from 360-degree feedback

From the course: Foundations of Performance Management

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Obtaining and benefiting from 360-degree feedback

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- I like to call feedback the Breakfast of Champions. It's something that can fuel your performance and career. And the most helpful and comprehensive form of feedback is known as 360 degree feedback. This involves seeking comments and observations from all of your various stakeholders, your bosses, internal clients, peers, colleagues, and team members, et cetera. Such a comprehensive feedback gathering process is time consuming and is normally only conducted annually or every two years, but it is worth the effort 'cause the wide range of insights gathered can help you work on your weaknesses, develop your strengths, and improve your overall performance. Ask your HR colleagues about the 360 degree tool your company uses or go online to learn about some of the common 360 degree tools and processes. You'll discover that nearly all involve an online questionnaire requiring feedback providers to rate a series of statements or questions on a scale of one to five. The questionnaire will typically explore a person's working style and you could take an off-the-shelf generic questionnaire or you could create one specifically tailored for your organization or team. Feedback providers also has to write comments in response to a few questions asking about the individual's strengths and any areas of weakness needing development. The ratings and comments are collected together anonymously so that no one knows who said what. This encourages feedback providers to open up and give honest feedback. If your team doesn't have their own staff, their feedback is sometimes referred to as 180 degree feedback, given that they would only be able to seek feedback from their peers and senior colleagues, including yourself. Upon receiving the results of their feedback, encourage your team members to follow three best practice rules, rules which, of course, you should always follow. Firstly, calmly and positively read and reflect upon their own results, noting those ratings and comments which seem important or might come as a surprise. Secondly, avoid overreacting or becoming upset because of any ratings or comments which may appear critical, negative, or even upsetting. Ask them to never try to second guess who may have given them those particular comments or ratings. And finally, encourage them to seek your input, as well as ask of other people they trust into how they can work on and develop themselves in light of the feedback. Help them to write their own development plan. By encouraging both yourself and your team to seek 360 degree feedback, you will all become wiser about yourselves and be in a much better position to know how to grow, develop, and excel in your roles and careers.

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