We use 360 Feedback to help leaders grow using a research-based competency model. When a leader functions in a feedback vacuum, relying only on self assessment, the perception of peers and direct reports often moves farther and farther away from the leader's self perception. 360 feedback gives direct, meaningful and actionable information, and is the catalyst for a leader to change the dynamics of his or her staff and peer relationships.

 

A leader must create a culture of feedback in which he or she can recognize the impact of his actions on others, and change her behavior to win people's trust. Formal 360 feedback is an effective tool to start the conversation with peers and direct reports, and to create an informal culture of mutual trust and support. Marshall Goldsmith calls this establishing "feedforward" in a relationship, where the errors of the past have been relegated to history and where people are able to give their leader feedback about how to be more effective in the future.

 

Effective 360 feedback requires a good model. We use the Leadership Practices Inventory, a research based instrument that identifies five key competencies or practices that are found in successful leaders in a broad range of professions. The Leadership Practices, as developed by Kouzes and Posner and used by thousands of organizations to develop leaders are:

Model the Way

Inspire a Shared Vision

Challenge the Process

Enable Others to Act

Encourage the Heart