By Tino Mantella
TLG President & CEO
Turknett Leadership Group (TLG) has conducted thousands of 360-assessments over the years. In 2022 alone, we are on pace to conduct well over three hundred of them. At TLG, we believe that when implemented effectively by a trained professional, the 360-assessment is an excellent tool for individual and team development. There are many options when it comes to selecting a 360-assessment. Our most popular is our Five-Factor 360-assessment tool.
What is our Five Factor 360-Assessment?
Our 360 is a multi-source assessment survey that identifies a leader’s strengths and areas for growth. We generate the report by asking peers, direct reports, superiors, and customers to provide information about the leader’s qualities. It’s a validated assessment that covers 55 dimensions of leadership. Scores are compared to those of other senior executives, giving a snapshot of strengths and developmental areas. The “five-factors” include disciplined execution, building relationships, inspirational character, strategic thinking, and the ability to develop others.
The Benefits of 360-Assessments
Effective utilization of the 360-assessments can support employee growth, aid personal planning, provide feedback related to culture, and be a powerful tool for retention. Having a focus on development can demonstrate a company’s strong commitment to their employees. 360-assessments can also be reaffirming to the leader. Understanding how you are perceived is often the first step in making needed adjustments to behaviors and leadership styles. The results of the assessment may not always be easy for the leader to accept, especially when the self-assessment is much different (and higher) than the view of the raters.
What the 360-Assessment is Not
What 360-assessments are not are tools to be used as part of performance reviews and they don’t go in performance folders. 360-assessments are confidential documents. The results are generally only shared between the coach and the client. We often encourage the participant to share the results with their “direct leader”, but that’s optional. The fifteen to twenty-five raters will want to know how their results will be shared. The answer is that only the supervisors’ results are shared directly. All other rater’s information is aggregated. This is a critical point because if the raters were to understand that their information and comments would be shared directly, you can imagine how their responses might change and/or how the results could negatively impact relationships moving forward.
How to get the Most out of your 360-Assessment
We recommend that the 360 reviews be combined with professional coaching. Creating a development plan is always an aspect of our coaching. Also, we recommend conducting a follow-up 360 at a later point to measure any changes in scoring. The 360-assessment is one of the best ways to understand how a person is viewed by their supervisor, peers, and reports. Even though there can be some pain, it’s been said many times that without pain there is no gain.
If you are interested in discussing how you and your company can benefit from embracing a 360-assessment process, feel free to contact us to discuss our various offerings.
Tino
Contact Info:
Cell: 678-984-8528