“360 Feedback: The Power of Perspective”

Are You Looking At Me?

The other day at the mall my three-year old daughter decided that it was time to throw a tantrum because Daddy wouldn’t buy candy.  She made quite a ruckus; and despite my personal feeling that I had the situation under control, other people may not have felt the same way.  Several of them stopped to frown and ask if everything was all right.  They were probably watching for signs of abuse.  Others (I hope) may have been mentally encouraging me to be patient and kind because they had been there before me.

Other people see things differently than we do and often see things in ourselves that we can’t see at all.  Like when we returned from the mall that same day and my wife said, “Did you have that price tag hanging on your new jacket the whole time?”   My wife’s perspective has been of tremendous value to me for 15 years of our 20 year marriage.  It took me the first 5 years to wise up, but that was my fault, not hers.  Now I listen when she tells me I’m not handling a situation with the kids correctly or when she tells me I was out of control when trying to resolve a problem with the Customer Service Rep.

I couldn’t do without her input.  Her perspective is different than mine and, while we don’t always agree, I’ve learned to use our differences to improve my own results at home and with family and friends. 

360 Feedback – Perspective from All Sides

That’s a lot the way 360 feedback can be in the workplace.  It’s one of the best ways to provide that outside perspective for supervisors and managers.  The concept behind 360 feedback is simple:  Feedback from others can shine light past our blind spots and motivate us to make changes.  The 360 title comes from the 360 degrees of a circle.  If I can get feedback from people in my circle who interact with me regularly, I can appreciate and use that to improve myself.  With input from my employees, my peers, and those above me, I can have a complete circle of information about how I behave at work and how others judge that behavior.  As powerful as this feedback is, there are some important considerations for making the feedback produce positive change.

Be Careful What You Ask For (and How You Ask For It)

Any survey or assessment is effective only when we know what we want to measure and ask the right questions.  First we have to determine what’s important.

§ What makes a supervisor or manager effective in your organization? 

§ What behaviors are most valued in the company culture? 

§ What skills align with the results and goals?

Creating questions to get the information we need is an art in itself.  Fortunately, there is some great software with libraries of questions in a wide number of categories along with numerous rating scales.  They make my life in implementing a 360 feedback project so much easier while still allowing for fine tuning to the organization’s situation.

Prepare for Feedback

It’s also important to properly prepare all the participants in a 360 feedback program about how to give and receive feedback.  Imagine being a patient going for a medical test but not knowing what the test is about.  Talk about fear factor!   And imagine a medical technician conducting the test who doesn’t know specifically what the test is looking for and how it will be used.  By including the patient and technician in the process, the test information can become more accurate and more valuable.  With 360 feedback we can prepare in a number of ways:

§ Let the subjects know what the survey is and how it will be used

§ Explain to responders that the survey is anonymous and how it will be used

§ Make an FAQ available

§ Stress confidentiality – and mean it!

§ Communicate the schedule and logistics

§ Communicate everything a second time using a different method to reinforce the original messages

Don’t React … Respond!

Many years ago, the cartoonist Walt Kelly drew a comic strip opossum named Pogo who lived in the Okefenokee Swamp.  Pogo had a classic line, “We have met the enemy, and they is us!”  With 360 feedback, it’s important that subjects see the survey results as an ally and not the enemy.  Supervisors and Managers who are the subject of 360 feedback often react with denial or defensiveness when they see the results.  That’s typical, but we can move past that phase more quickly by communicating that denial is a normal reaction and let them know in advance to expect it.  It’s important to reinforce that the feedback itself is confidential for the subject only.  The key to the process is to get past the reaction phase and move to a more rational response.  The subject manager should select one or two areas where they want to improve and decide what they will do to improve them.  By choosing for themselves, there is more commitment and motivation to actually make changes. 

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

I think I’m a pretty normal husband.  I have my own habits and way of thinking.  When I try to make a change at home I don’t usually get it right the first time.  I have to try and fail a number of times until the change starts to take hold.  That’s what it takes to modify behaviors at work, too.  My wife is good about letting me know if I am or am not making progress.  How can we tell at work if changes in perception are really taking place as a result of this process?  By repeating the survey every 6 or 12 months, the previous survey results become a benchmark for comparison.  This motivates managers to keep up their change and improvement efforts and lets them see the “dial” actually move or not move.  It also puts the control firmly in their hands to make a change.

Summary

Input from a spouse or others is a great motivator for change when it’s offered in the right way.  Following this principle, 360 feedback can be one of the most powerful motivators for self improvement of supervisors, managers, and team leaders.  When implemented correctly, the process can start people changing their own behavior to fit more closely what’s needed for success in the workplace.  The organization gets more of what it wants, the manager improves, and the manager’s team is more satisfied as well.

If you’d like more information about improving performance using 360 feedback, email me at the address below and request the article entitled: “The Ultimate Use For 360 Feedback”.

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