360 Degree Assessment Process

The 360 Degree Assessment is a popular Leadership Development tool for obtaining feedback, in Survey form, from multiple sources the leader works with to drive improvement.  Areas this Assessment may measure are: Assertiveness, Reward & Recognition, Skill in Motivating Staff, Communication, Decision-Making, Giving Feedback, Performance Management, Interpersonal Skills, Meeting Management, and Managing Conflict.

These Assessments usually obtain feedback from the Leader themselves, their boss, their peers, and their subordinates.  Other groups may also be included: Board Members for CEOs, vendors, internal customers, external customers (other department staff or leaders), or stakeholders.

The Assessment is usually comprised of Likert Rating Scale questions (often 1 to 5) and open-ended questions.

The Assessment Report will show averages of Likert Scale responses and will show a comparison of those responses for each group that rated the leader.  It will also often include comments which are aggregated and de-identified to protect the anonymity of the respondents.

It is important in the Assessment process to maintain the anonymity of the respondents so that they feel safe to share difficult information for the leader and so that the leader doesn’t inadvertently or overtly retaliate.

There are many off-the shelf-products for this Assessment, including the DiSC 363 Assessment and Center for Creative Leadership Assessment, and custom surveys may also be created.

In order for the Assessment to be an effective development tool, preparation for the survey must be made:

360 Degree Assessment Leader Preparation Briefing

Below is a PowerPoint presentation to use in preparing a Leader on how to participate in the process.