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Receiving 360° Feedback: FAQs

What is 360° feedback?
Feedback on your leadership skills from people who work with you – from all angles – your boss, your colleagues and your team.

Why do it?
To get a balanced picture of how you come across and what impact you make at work. This is the first step to deciding what you need to develop as a leader – and what strengths you can play to.

How is the feedback gathered?
You are sent an email containing a link to a structured online questionnaire. First you nominate those colleagues you want to ask for feedback, then you complete the questionnaire about yourself (this will give you a comparison with your colleagues ratings when you get your feedback report). The colleagues you have nominated are sent an email with a link to the questionnaire. We send a reminder to anyone who has not completed the questionnaire by the deadline.

Who should I nominate?
Choose a range of people that work with you, who see you in different situations. As a guide, your nominations should include your line manager, everyone who reports into you and a variety of colleagues – this includes peers from different departments who frequently work with you and internal clients if you have any. Consider including some people with whom you have a less strong working relationship – the feedback may help you explore why this is.

How many people should I nominate?
Between 6 and 12.

I rarely see my line manager – should I still ask him/her for feedback?
Yes. You will still find out his/her perception of you, which is likely to be a factor in your future prospects.

Can I nominate people outside the organisation?
Yes – if they have previously worked with you and could give valuable insights. Check with your Human Resources Advisor first that your organization will allow external people to use the feedback process.

How will I be given the feedback?
The feedback from you and your nominees is collated into a feedback report – this will be given to you by a Lift consultant.

Below is a sample feedback report:

Sample feedback report


Who else will see my feedback?
When completing the questionnaire, your colleagues cannot see anyone else’s responses. The feedback report itself is seen only by you (and us at lift); no-one in your organization will see the feedback report.

Will I know who said what?
Unlikely. None of the feedback is attributed by name. The ratings given by your nominees are collated into three groups – manager, direct reports, and peers. You will see the average rating for each of these groups – you will not know the individual ratings given by each person (other than your manager). Do bear in mind though that where people have given free-form comments it is occasionally possible from their writing style to figure out who wrote them.

I haven’t been in my role/organisation very long – should I still take part?
If you have been in your current role or organization for less than six months we would suggest not taking part – you have not had sufficient opportunity for people to see you in a leadership capacity and the feedback you get will be of limited value. Please contact us if you will not be taking part

What if I get conflicting messages in the feedback report?
When different groups of people give you conflicting feedback – for example if your team give different ratings from your manager – this suggests that you behave differently with those people. It could also be that one group has different expectations of you than the other (e.g. your team may have an operational focus, whilst your manager is more concerned with the strategic bigger picture)

How do I handle feedback I strongly disagree with?
Be aware of the difference between your intention and how others might perceive your actions – remember others are not privy to your thinking and your intentions may not be clear. Do not confront the individual to try to justify yourself – instead ask yourself and others what you might be doing (or not doing) to create this perception.

What are the next steps after getting feedback?
Use the feedback to decide what you want to develop personally. Look for the strengths that you can play to; and look for 1-3 things to work on that will help with the work challenges you face in your role right now.

Can I do a repeat 360° process to check my progress?
Yes – we would recommend that you wait at least 12 months before repeating the process. This is a realistic timescale to achieve some personal development; and it ensures that your colleagues don’t get ‘questionnaire-fatigue’!

 

“To become more effective, leaders need to break through the information quarantine around them - and the conspiracy to keep them pleased, even if uninformed.

Rare are those who dare to tell a commanding leader he is too harsh, or to let a leader know she could be more visionary, or more democratic.

That's why…leaders need to seek the truth themselves.”

Daniel Goleman, Author 'The New Leaders'