A 360-degree assessment can amplify your success as a CEO
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. In that same vein, you can’t improve your leadership skills if you don’t know your flaws.
To gain clear direction on how to be a better boss and leader, consider a 360-degree assessment. This management exercise is simply a questionnaire completed by the key people on your team about you.
“Honest and anonymous feedback from your team can really help leverage your and your team’s professional growth and development,” says Sarah Beth Aubrey, CEO of ACT and farm business coach. “Both constructive and positive feedback is crucial to take the next step for your success.”
Perception Versus Reality
A strong self-awareness of your skills is an invaluable tool for a leader, says Michelle Painchaud, president and CEO of the Painchaud Performance Group, a human-performance consulting firm.
“The problem about being at the top of a business is it is quite lonely,” Painchaud. “Half of the time a leader’s perception of themselves is different than their employees.”
Through a 360 review, you can collect helpful feedback. Aubrey and Painchaud suggests the following guidelines:
- Make the process anonymous.
- Have everyone participating answer the same questions.
- Complete the exercise every two years and compare results.
- If the process is overwhelming, hire a consultant to oversee the project.
Ultimately, a 360 review promotes communication, ideas and feedback, says Susan Drumm, CEO adviser and leadership coach at Meritage Leadership.
“When we make space for frequent feedback in our company culture, our direct reports know we value them and their opinions,” she says. “Tell them why you want this feedback in the first place and what you hope to do with it. Explain your goals as a leader and how their feedback can help you, the team and the whole company.”
Once you’ve received useful feedback, act on it. “It feels uncomfortable to tell our boss what we really think when they hold power over the purse strings,” Drumm says. “Make sure your team realizes you’re making changes because of their feedback.”
Of course, feedback can feel personal and can be challenging to accept. “Avoid being defensive and look at the context in which the ideas, suggestions or comments are provided,” Aubrey says. “Then you can decide what you do with the information; it is not necessary to react to all feedback.”
How a 360 Review Can Help You
When and how 360-degree assessments are used needs to be closely linked to their purpose, explains says Sarah Beth Aubrey, CEO of ACT. Decide what you want to accomplish. Here are a few ways, Aubrey says, this exercise can benefit your team:
- Help coach someone to improve his or her self-awareness.
- Uncover areas where a natural skill could be developed.
- Identify the best role for a person to fill.
- Build team unity and create a positive culture.
- Improve your understanding about various work styles or personality types.
