I hear more questions and confusion about
360s than almost any other kind of assessment
tool. So being a passionate advocate of the
right kind of 360 degree assessment
done for the right reasons, let me try and
clear up some of the fog surrounding these,
from a CEO's perspective.
The right kind of 360 degree leadership
assessment is a developmental tool that will
help leaders identify leadership areas in
which they could benefit from some focus and
work. Since none of us are born perfect
leaders, it is virtually always helpful to
know how we are doing - not from our own,
often rose-tinted self assessment, but in the
eyes of the people around us who see us
leading every day. In order to ensure that
honesty drives the result, 360 degree
leadership assessments should be anonymous
from the participant standpoint, and from a
recipient's point of view, they should be
seen as developmental and never tied to
bonuses, salary increases or used in a
punitive manner (i.e. to try and document a
case for a termination).
360 degree leadership assessments demonstrate
the message that "perception is reality." A
leader can choose to be defensive and argue
with the results, but since these assessments
are the composite view from an individual's
boss, peers and direct reports, regardless of
what a leader thinks, their observers'
perception of observable leadership behavior
is the reality. But perhaps more importantly,
360 degree leadership assessments should tie
to business results for a company or
organization - i.e. what are the critical
leadership behaviors that senior leaders (and
subordinate leaders to an increasing degree
as they move up) need to be strong at, if the
company is to achieve its strategic business
objectives? 360s should not be done to "feel
good", to substitute for or to complement
annual performance assessments.
There are many 360 degree leadership
assessments available in the market, and most
require a trained and licensed consultant to
administer them. The instrument itself is
critical, since many use a simple rating
(Likert) scale, for participants to score the
person being assessed on a number of
leadership behaviors. The problem with these
type of instruments is that it is very easy
to "game" the questionnaire. If an observer
just had a difficult interaction with the
leader being assessed, it is very easy to
just provide low scores, whether
intentionally or subconsciously. For this
reason, the best 360 instruments use a
forced-choice question format, which takes
the "gaming" out of the process. The observer
has no idea which behaviors their answers go
to, and they aren't entering scores in any
case, so the accuracy of the assessment is
increased as well.
The last element of successful 360 degree
leadership assessment is taking action. There
is no point in doing 360s if there isn't a
clear path to taking action to improve one or
two behaviors that could use some work. The
best instruments provide documentation that
walks leaders through a process of
identifying behaviors they feel they should
work on, and then sharing their plans with
their observers, so there is some
accountability to actually improve. The best
side benefit of good 360 processes is to make
discussions about leadership skills "safe",
i.e. since none of us is a perfect leader, we
can all improve. With the feedback from my
observers and the development of a personal
action plan, I can also solicit help, and at
the same time, if any of my observers see
being sliding backwards, they can remind me
of the commitment I made. Think of the power
of an organization where talking about
leadership skills isn't done only behind
closed doors and in whispers, but is part of
a healthy dialogue about how leaders can be
even better, to achieve even better business
results. Where junior leaders clearly
understand the behaviors that they will have
to work on, in order to be considered for
greater responsibility and to be part of the
company's succession plan.
The instrument I have used in all three
public companies I led (and which I am now
licensed to administer) is from a Portland,
ME company called MRG. It is simply the best
360 instrument I have ever found, and below I
have attached a link to their website. I have
also included a link to an excellent
whitepaper they have produced, that discusses
why 360 degree leadership assessment must
connect to business results and the bottom line.
When you are ready to identify critical
leadership behaviors that are required to
execute and
achieve your strategic business objectives,
consider a
good 360 degree leadership assessment process
as the path to follow.
MRG Inc.
Demonstrating
the Link between Leadership Behavior and
Bottom-Line
Results
Best regards,
Jim Alampi
Alampi & Associates LLC
phone:
248.349.6045
