Developing your leadership with 360 feedback

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”

Peter Drucker, the legendary management consultant, is attributed with the phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. It seems clear now, that he never actually used those words, but what he did say was “Culture, no matter how defined, is singularly persistent.”

It may not be as snappy, but it amounts to much the same thing – no matter how great and well thought out your business strategy might be, your plans will fall and fail if your company does not have the culture that encourages people to implement it.

So if we assume that’s true, then embedding the right leadership behaviours in your organisation is absolutely key.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through the use of a 360 feedback tool. This uses feedback from an employee’s colleagues and supervisors, as well as self-evaluation, to review performance and highlight development opportunities. Its origins date back to the 1930s and it has been in regular use globally since the 1990s.

Read further: How to prevent burnout in leadership

How does 360 feedback work?

Done right, 360 feedback provides clarity, focus and impact, encouraging targeted personal development aligned to the specific behaviours that are critical to your organisation’s success.

360 feedback services can:

• Offer multifaceted insights, giving a comprehensive understanding from diverse viewpoints
• Reveal blind spots by identifying hidden areas for improvement and unlocking untapped potential
• Develop tailored training to enhance performance and achieve excellence
• Boost collaboration through more transparent and collegiate feedback
• Create ownership, enabling personal accountability for learning and development

Read more: What is 360 feedback?

360 feedback vs engagement surveys – what’s the difference?

The key difference between 360 feedback and an engagement survey is the breadth of the insights each can provide across an organisation.

360 feedback is designed to offer insights on an individual member of staff’s performance, compiled of feedback from peers, managers and colleagues. On the flip side, engagement surveys are designed to gather feedback from employees across an organisation to offer an overall view of the wider employee experience.

Both offer valuable data that can help to bolster organisation’s listening strategies, build stronger employer/employee relations and ensure that every employee has both a voice and a platform through which to share their thoughts and experiences. 

AI power with a human touch

At People Insight, we have enhanced the 360 process, incorporating the latest in generative AI to quickly analyse feedback and provide personalised, guided actions.

These AI-generated suggestions are designed to highlight potential areas for improvement and propose practical steps for development, helping individuals and teams to identify opportunities quickly and efficiently.

While our AI gives us another tool to dive deeper into the data, it’s not all about the tech. 360 provides a solid foundation for development, but our team of 360 coaching experts are always on hand to help your team make sense of feedback within the broader context of their work environment and personal career goals.

Support from our in-house specialists can include 1-2-1 coaching, supporting managers on data interpretation, action plan development,  behavioural framework generation and even support with internal comms.

Your 360 feedback options

We offer two 360 feedback options to cater to the level of support you need:

Our 360 Ready to Go system is ideal for those needing a quick turnaround, making it rapidly deployable and perfect for collecting feedback immediately. Based on empirical research and practical  experience, the process is so quick that we can have managers set up on the system within a day, and data in your hands in as little as a week.

360 Custom offers a more bespoke option, with a tailored experience that’s designed around your organisation’s specific values and competencies. Whether you have a framework ready to upload or need to build one from scratch, our consultants can help. We’ll also help to analyse your results based on key demographics unique to your organisation like location, gender and team structure.

Want to find out more about how 360 could help to empower all members of your team to receive panoramic perspectives on their performance? Our 360 feedback tool could revolutionise your workplace. Contact us to get started today!