Leadership 360 Degree Feedback Tool

Our Leadership 360 degree feedback assessment is a valuable tool for all levels of leadership. It was Plato who said, "A life unexamined is not worth living", so let's start examining where you are in terms of your leadership effectiveness.

This exercise provides a panoramic view of your leadership skill-set as input is provided by your direct reports, peers, co-workers and upper management.

Download Free: Leadership 360 Degree Feedback

Over the years, this 360 leadership assessment tool has become one of our most popular offerings, because it enables you to get no-nonsense feedback about how others perceive you as a leader.

Too often people receive their employee review directly from their supervisor, and the feedback received is provided by one person who may or may not have a firm grip on what you do, or the full value of what you provide.

By initiating a Leadership 360 degree feedback assessment, you are asking people all around you to provide an unvarnished assessment of your leadership skill-set.

How do we know people will tell you the honest truth? One of the primary rules for this exercise is that the surveys are anonymous. The people completing your survey are promised anonymity so they feel 100% secure knowing that whatever they say there can be no retaliation.

Some leaders who are the subject of this assessment might feel uncomfortable because they have no idea what people are going to say, and fear of the unknown can be unsettling.

"There is only one key to profitability and stability during either an economic boom or downturn: Leadership!"

However, leaders who seek to learn, grow and improve their skill-set should shake off any fears they have and embrace the opportunity to learn how they are truly perceived by others in the workplace.

The insights gained by going through the Leadership 360 degree feedback analysis are well worth the risk of feeling uncomfortable.

When you really think about it what's the worst that can happen? Perhaps someone provides some negative feedback that doesn't feel good, or that you don't think is fair?

Do not dismiss negative feedback. Consider all feedback as a gift, and an opportunity to become a better leader.

"An employee [human capital] will go where he is wanted and he will stay where he is well treated. He cannot be forced to perform at maximum capacity, but he can be inspired to do so."

- Walter Wriston

Leadership 360 Degree Feedback Instructions

The first thing you must do to begin this exercise is determine who will be the administrator of the Leadership 360 exercise. This needs to be someone who is trustworthy and will not share any sensitive information with other members of the team.

The administrator can be someone within your organization or a third party, but whoever is chosen must be perceived by all participants as having the highest of integrity.

The administrator will distribute copies of the Leadership 360 degree feedback survey to each participant’s superiors, subordinates, and peers for completion. By surveying up, down, and across (360 degrees), this tool will provide participants with information unobtainable from conventional assessment instruments.

Unlike other 360-degree instruments, this activity is anonymous – those surveyed will not be asked for any personal information, including whether they are a superior, subordinate, or peer. Again, anonymity facilitates honest, objective, and user-friendly feedback. The administrator will ensure that all completed forms and feedback sheets remain confidential.

Leadership 360 Assessment

The following steps will be taken by the administrator to ensure a successful Leadership 360 review.

Select Organizational Members for Review

LEADERSHIP 360 is designed for organizational leaders and candidates for leadership positions. The behaviors evaluated are broad and generic, allowing both formal and informal leaders to participate.

Ensure that individuals to be evaluated have agreed to be the subject of this exercise before proceeding.
Select Reviewers

The administrator will meet with each participant to select their respective reviewers. The participant’s direct supervisor, all direct subordinates and peers should be asked to participate.

If possible, concur with the participant on a list of 10 or more potential reviewers. Then, contact the potential reviewers to confirm their willingness to participate in the analysis.
Distribute Survey to Reviewers

The administrator will use a confidential means to distribute the surveys. Sealed mail and in-person delivery can both be used successfully. No matter what distribution method is used, the administrator will provide each reviewer with an easy, confidential method for returning completed surveys, such as a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Compile Results

Once the surveys are completed and returned, the administrator of the Leadership 360 degree feedback exercise will compile the results using a scoring key that is included in the tool (Appendix A).

For each of the 10 behavior categories, the administrator will add up the numbers corresponding with the ratings assigned by the reviewers and then divide by the number of responses for that behavior to obtain an average score. Each behavior score is then entered on the scoring calculation worksheet (Appendix B), and the final score is determined.
Hold a Feedback Session to Share Results

Hold one-on-one feedback sessions with each LEADERSHIP 360 participant. Review the leadership areas, behaviors, and scoring, using Appendix A. Be sure the participant understands the scoring process.

Allow the participant plenty of time to consider the results and ask questions. After a quality discussion, ask the participant to think about how she or he can use the information to grow and improve her/his leadership skill-set. Be prepared to offer suggestions to make sure of internal and/or external resources for continued learning.

The Leadership 360 degree feedback tool provides excellent information that you can use to create a leadership development action plan. Most likely, you'll find that you score high is some categories, but lower in others.

Focus to improve in the areas where your score was well under the normal average. In a short period of time you'll be able to noticeably improve in these areas and when you do, people will take notice.

In addition, you'll gain credibility in the eyes of your team members, peers and supervisors by demonstrating that you are committed to professional development and to becoming a better leader.

Download Leadership 360 Degree Feedback Tool

To download our free Leadership 360 Degree Feedback tool, simply subscribe to our free newsletter. You will immediately receive a password that grants access to our entire leadership tools library.

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