Nine Points for Getting 360 Degree Reviews RightMy last two posts have focused on dealing with feedback fears and using feedback to move us forward. As we work with Clients to implement our Strengths-Based Leadership Development System we’re tapping into Zenger Folkman’s extensive knowledge base and rapidly expanding our experience and expertise in using 360 feedback tools. It’s an incredibly powerful vehicle for a leader to gather perceptions from his or her manager, direct reports, peers, and others on pinpointing leadership strengths and how to build them. This is the only way to help a good leader become an extraordinary one.

It’s been fascinating to discuss 360 feedback experiences with executives and development professionals. Many have had negative encounters. As we’ve talked further about why their experiences were so negative what often emerges is that the tool and the process was weakness-based. The 360s were built on the wide spread and unconscious belief that improvement equals finding and fixing lower rated areas. Our research shows that’s completely wrong. Building and developing existing strengths is 2 – 3 times more effective.

On top of being weakness-based, many 360s feedback tools are poorly built and the feedback process is badly managed. Like a car with faulty brakes, misaligned steering, and a poorly trained driver, these feedback vehicles are an accident waiting to happen. And they often cause serious injuries.

Joe Folkman and Jack Zenger’s Harvard Business Review blog post on Getting 360 Degree Reviews Right provides nine critical points to ensure leaders reap the enormous power of 360 tools. Use them to drive safely.

Our first Extraordinary Leader public workshops (currently no others are scheduled) in Calgary on November 13 and Toronto on November 29 (hosted by Canadian Tire) are structured around the personal feedback each participant gets using our 360 feedback tool and 200 page Competency Companion Development Guide to build on the leadership strengths identified.