How You Can Use the 360-Assessment to Make You a Better Leader

The following is adapted from Changing Altitude .

Higher engagement and higher performance. That’s what I was aiming for in launching a 360-Assessment online. When I first used the tool, I worked as an HR executive for the phone company BellSouth Telecommunications. As part of my role, I was trying to change the way human resources was viewed—not as an obstacle and barrier, but as an enabler of high performance.

I came up with the idea of using leadership assessments as a tool to create an environment that was all about learning and continuous improvement. These assessments, I reasoned, could be a means to hold leaders accountable for the kind of behaviors that we thought would drive up performance and increase engagement. If it worked the way I was hoping it would, we could use the assessments at every level of the organization.

The 360-Assessment questions evaluates leaders on seven critical characteristics of leadership and is meant to be filled out by all the staff people connected to the leader being assessed—their subordinates, colleagues, and their bosses—hence, a “360-degree” view of the leader’s performance. Each leader is also supposed to self-assess themselves.

My need to improve as a listener was glaring; I’d gotten feedback about that my entire life. Although the moment of truth stung, the 360-Assessment feedback set me on a course to help myself improve as a listener in all parts of my life—as a husband, as a teacher, as a father, as a friend, and certainly as a coach and consultant. Inviting honest feedback and diligently seeking to develop my weaknesses has made me a better leader and, ultimately, a better human being.?

An Enhanced Perspective

Leaders almost always discover a gap between their perspectives on how they’re doing as a leader and others’ perspectives of how they’re doing as a leader. Why would this be?

Humans function with unconscious bias. We see what we want to see—or what we’re able to see. The truth is, all of us have blind spots. The 360-Assessment is a recognition that most of us are delusional about our strengths and our weaknesses. We all have a narrative that we tell ourselves about our identity, which may or may not be a complete view of reality. To pursue leadership growth, we have to identify our blind spots; we must complete the narrative. We do that by increasing our self-awareness.?

When discovering the discrepancy between how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you, you have two choices: first, you can get defensive and dismiss other people’s criticism as incorrect. Many leaders already experience insecurities. If you’re in that position, inviting critical feedback is the last thing you would want to do. What if it confirms the psychological wound that says you’re not good enough? It becomes easier (and may even feel necessary to survive and endure in your current role) to reject the feedback altogether. But if you refuse to acknowledge the need for growth, you won’t grow.?

Alternately, you can change your view about how you see yourself and work to improve. That attitude does lead to growth. Sometimes, we see people decide they want to improve after first getting defensive and dismissive! That’s okay, so long as you eventually find the motivation to work towards personal development. We’ve found that accurate self-awareness can be a great motivator; it becomes a mirror that gives you a reflection of your true self. If you’re not satisfied with the picture in the mirror, you’re motivated to improve.

The 360-Assessment Tool

So how does it work? The 360-Assessment tool provides a list of questions related to seven critical characteristics of leadership. You can access the 360 we’ve perfected over the last twenty years at www.3ELeadershipGroup.com . We recommend that you first take the time to complete it as a self-assessment. In addition, you should give these assessments to your subordinates, your colleagues, and your boss(es) to complete their evaluation of you. Consider allowing people to contribute their assessments confidentially.?

We believe that our 360-Assessment tool is excellent, but it’s not the only assessment tool out there. There are plenty of assessment tools available online that you can administer. We do, however, recommend the 360 model of gathering feedback from people on all sides of you so that you can effectively “complete the narrative” of your leadership style.??

Once all assessments have been completed, go through the feedback alone or with a mentor. A mentor or a removed third party can be helpful; however, if you genuinely desire to consider this feedback and take it to heart, you can lead this assessment effort on your own. Then, take thoughtful action to learn more about your needed areas of growth.?

The Power of the 360

We love the power of the 360 because it not only provides insight into how you might be perceived by others versus yourself—it also clarifies how different groups might perceive your leadership style.?

For instance, take the simple question: “Does this person lead innovation?” On your self-assessment, you might answer yes; of course, I lead innovation. One assessment might come back from your boss, “Yes, this person innovates.” But your subordinates might turn in reviews that say no. They don’t see you taking needed risks. You won’t allow them to take risks. And your colleagues at your same level affirm the assessment of your subordinates; they also don’t see you encouraging innovation.

Once again, this disconnect allows for a major “ah-ha” moment. The gaps in the assessments should be revealing: you’re presenting yourself differently to your boss than you are to your subordinates and colleagues. There’s a gap there. At this point, you should ask the question, why? Why is there a disconnect between how you see yourself and how other people see you? Why are you showing one thing to your boss and something else to your employees and colleagues??

The most accurate view of you will come from many different vantage points. Use the 360-Assessment, or another tool like it, to gather a full-circle picture of your leadership.

For more advice on how to use the 360-Assessment, you can find Changing Altitude on Amazon or or visit 3eleadershipgroup.com/360 .

Dr. Dennis O’Neil has decades of applied leadership and teaching experience as an executive coach with leadershipForward, a professor of strategic leadership, and a trusted advisor to CEOs, public and non-profit boards, senior government and military officials, and multinational organizations. Dennis combines his experiences with leading research to focus on the client’s most compelling needs.

Greg Hiebert is the co-founder of leadershipForward and the bestselling author of You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have. He’s served as a leader and mentor for an eclectic mix of organizations like the United States Military Academy, the United States Army, McKinsey & Company, and the Yale School of Management. His coaching approach incorporates deep levels of authentic and courageous dialogue to create conditions for personal and organizational transformation.