360 Feedback: Nice to Know or Need to Have?

Effective feedback is widely recognised as a cornerstone for helping employees understand their performance and potential. Recent research underscores its impact, with 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback reporting full engagement (Gallup, 2023). Of course, the emphasis here is on meaningful feedback that is timely, constructive, inspiring, and actionable. While many leaders may need to develop this skill, there are typically various opportunities to practice formal and informal feedback in the rhythm of scheduled interactions between an employee and their direct manager.

The same, however, does not hold true for feedback from other sources: peers, direct reports, and other stakeholders. In a fast-paced world there is often simply not enough time, opportunity or appetite to provide others with feedback. This gap widens for leaders, especially at senior levels, where feedback diminishes, potentially leaving them isolated and unaware of their impact on others.

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions”– Ken Blanchard

This enduring quote is a reminder that great leaders prioritise feedback as a critical key to unlock their potential. Throughout a leader’s career, potential is often assessed using psychometric tools for selection, development, or succession planning. From an iceberg model perspective, these assessments measure submerged drivers—such as personality and abilities—representing potential competence. Yet, this potential remains untapped unless behaviours like collaboration, influencing, and resilience (for example) are observed and experienced by others. This is where 360-degree assessments step in, offering a vital diagnostic tool by gathering anonymous input from peers, subordinates, superiors, and self.

But is this tool a nice-to-know option or a need-to-have resource? What elevates this tool beyond a simple questionnaire? The answer lies in how it is positioned, its critical role in personal growth, and the practical ways leaders can leverage its insights.

Benefits of an effective 360 process

• Enhancing Strategic Self-awareness

At the core of a 360-degree assessment is the psychological principle of self-awareness, particularly in uncovering blind spots. By collecting diverse perspectives, it provides a data-driven mirror, reducing self-delusion. In essence, 360 feedback shines a light on behaviours the leader may not recognise but that impact those around them - for instance, viewing their own directness as a strength, while others see it as insensitivity.

• Shaping Reputation

Leadership influence depends on how others feel in a leader’s presence—motivated, uneasy, or disconnected. A 360 assessment reveals these emotional dynamics. A leader strong in task management might receive feedback about a distant demeanour, prompting a shift to align their identity with others’ experiences, fostering authenticity.

• Driving Accountability

A 2020 study by the Centre for Creative Leadership revealed that 65% of leaders had blind spots affecting their performance. A 360 assessment provides a factual basis for self-improvement, benefitting organisations too.

The key requirements for an effective 360 process

To unlock its potential, a 360 process must be strategically designed and executed.

• Strategic Positioning

Foster a culture of trust, with senior leaders promoting it as a growth tool, not a critique. Align objectives with goals like leadership development or team collaboration. As reported by Zenger and Folkman (2020), organisations taking the process seriously get better results.

• Scientific Design

Use valid and reliable tools to measure leadership behaviours for benchmarking purposes. Include organisation-specific questions and stop-start-continue prompts for practical insights.

• Robust Mechanics

Select diverse raters with regular interaction to minimise bias. Provide training on constructive feedback, ensure anonymity for candour, and use a reliable online system with clear timelines - organisations often benefit from appointing an implementation partner for this part of the process.

• Development-focused Delivery

Highlight actionable insights, framing improvements as growth opportunities. Collaborate on a plan with specific goals, supported by coaching or learning initiatives.

Turning Insights into Action

Awareness from 360 feedback drives leadership growth, but without reflection, experimentation, and follow-up, it lacks impact. To translate insights into meaningful change, leaders must act intentionally and sustain efforts over time as follows:

• Identify Patterns and Prioritise Development Areas

Implementing numerous suggestions for improvement from a 360 feedback in one go can be challenging and counterproductive. Review feedback for recurring themes, like collaboration or communication gaps, and focus on 1 or 2 high-impact areas.

• Seek Coaching

A coach can clarify feedback and guide strategies. A 2022 meta-analysis found that leaders receiving coaching were more likely to improve objective work performance as rated through 360’s (Wang et al., 2022). In another study, the combination of 360 feedback plus coaching resulted in 88% of participants showing improvements (Das & Rajini, 2024).

• Experiment and Reflect

Acquiring new habits requires repeated practice, therefore leaders must test new behaviours and reflect on the outcomes as part of their development journey.

• Build a Feedback Culture

Encourage regular feedback to embed a growth mindset. Model transparency by sharing anonymised feedback insights with your team, fostering open dialogue.

• Measure and Reassess Progress

Repeat the 360 process after 6–12 months to track improvement, as recommended by Fleenor et al. (2015). Adjust goals based on new feedback to sustain growth. Use metrics like team engagement scores to quantify impact.

• Engage Stakeholders for Support

Involve key stakeholders (e.g. HR or peers) to reinforce accountability and provide resources. Schedule consistent follow-ups to maintain momentum.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite its benefits, challenges exist - defensiveness can arise when feedback is misaligned with self-perception; rater bias, influenced by cultural or relational dynamics, may skew results; the time required to complete a 360 process, particularly for individuals with many people to rate, can pose a logistical challenge; and additionally, ensuring consistent follow-through can be difficult.

These hurdles can undermine the process’s effectiveness if not planned for and addressed thoughtfully. The initiatives highlighted earlier in this post can assist to mitigate these challenges as effectively as possible.

Conclusion: A Mirror for Continuous Improvement and the Future of 360 Feedback

Whether uncovering blind spots for a leader, fostering a feedback culture or driving team growth, 360 assessments create awareness to fuel change. The process demands curiosity and resilience, especially when feedback is challenging, but leadership remains a journey, and 360 feedback provides vital data to guide it.

Looking forward, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into 360 feedback systems is set to transform their impact. AI can enhance these assessments by providing highly personalised, data-driven insights, identifying patterns in feedback with greater accuracy, and offering actionable recommendations tailored to individual needs. However, this technological advancement also raises ethical considerations, such as safeguarding data privacy, mitigating algorithmic biases, and preserving the human element essential to meaningful feedback. Organisations will have to be aware of and address these challenges proactively in order to leverage AI to amplify the effectiveness of 360 assessments, while maintaining trust and authenticity.

Curious how 360 feedback could work in your organisation? Send a mail to info@jvrafrica.co.za

References

• Das, B. K., & Rajini, G. (2024). Leadership development through 360-degree multi-rater feedback—An experience sharing of need, approach, roll-out, and the impact. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.54517/esp.v9i2.2000

• Fleenor, J. W., Taylor, S., & Chappelow, C. (2015). Leveraging the impact of 360-degree feedback. Personnel Psychology, 68(1), 117–128.

• Gallup. (2023, May 2023). A great manager’s most important habit. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/505370/great-manager-important-habit.aspx

• International Coach Federation (2017), “Global consumer awareness study”, available at: https://

• cplatform-files.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/resources/ICF_2017_Survey.pdf (accessed 21

• April 2021).

• Jones, R., Woods, S. and Guillaume, Y. (2016), “The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-

• analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching”,Journal of Occupational and

• Organizational Psychology, Vol. 89 No. 2, pp. 249-277

• International Coach Federation (2017), “Global consumer awareness study”, available at: https://

• cplatform-files.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/resources/ICF_2017_Survey.pdf (accessed 21

• April 2021).

• Jones, R., Woods, S. and Guillaume, Y. (2016), “The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-

• analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching”,Journal of Occupational and

• Organizational Psychology, Vol. 89 No. 2, pp. 249-277

• Jones, R., Woods, S. and Guillaume, Y. (2016), “The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-

• analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching”,Journal of Occupational and

• Organizational Psychology, Vol. 89 No. 2, pp. 249-277

• Wang, Q., Lai, Y.-L., Xu, X., & McDowall, A. (2022). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of contemporary psychologically informed coaching approaches. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 14(1), 21-38.

• Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2020). What makes a 360-degree review successful? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/12/what-makes-a-360-degree-review-successful