You Have 360 Feedback...Now What?

Jul 18

360 feedback is an incredibly valuable developmental tool for leaders. Many people realize that gaining perspective on strengths and opportunities from the people they work with is essential for professional growth and development. However, no matter how much we say we want feedback, it still can be hard to hear.

A 360 feedback report landing in our email inboxes or in our hands can trigger our “not-so-rational-and-perhaps-a-bit-emotional” reactions. These reactions are prompted by whether we believe the feedback to be accurate, the relationship with the person giving feedback, and what we believe about ourselves.

Even the best leaders can feel off-balance, overwhelmed, or judged when initially receiving feedback. In thinking about the thousands of 360 feedback reports delivered, the difference I have seen between the best leaders and the rest is how they go about processing the feedback. Listening to and applying feedback from multiple co-workers is an important skill set. These learnable skills include imagining how other people see things, filtering through clues about what your direct reports and colleagues need from you, and calibrating how you work with others.

The following guidelines will help you strengthen this skill set.

The ACE Way to Receive 360 Feedback

Anticipate your likely reaction.

Some leaders blow past positive feedback and ruminate on negative messages. Others give too much weight to the nitty-gritty details (e.g., an outlier or a single harshly-worded verbatim comment) and miss the top-priority themes. Think about how you handled past feedback and commit to listening to all feedback before jumping to a conclusion.

Then, listen to what you tell yourself as you review your 360 feedback report. Then, take a step back to listen to what others are trying to say to you across the various ratings and comments. What patterns are most common? What are the headlines?

Create a goal for how to use the feedback.

Once you have taken the first pass through the feedback report, it is time to get intentional. The feedback report can be a rich source of information; focusing your attention will reduce overwhelm. Review the feedback a few times. Each time ask yourself focused questions to reach the goal that you set. You might ask, “What I am learning here?” or “What are my direct reports saying they need from me?” For example, you can consider taking your next pass of the 360 feedback report with one of these learning goals:

Capitalize on standout strengths
Leverage mid-range strengths to add more value
Address bad habits that negatively affect others (even if well-intentioned!)
Minimize or compensate for a weakness

Engage others in the conversation.

Feedback is an investment that others are making in your professional growth. Unfortunately, without communication following 360 feedback, people tend to assume the worst about the leader (e.g., they do not care; they are angry). These negative stories will prevent your raters from providing useful feedback next time. You can easily prevent this from happening by sending a quick yet meaningful “thank you” with a couple of key learnings from the feedback.

Take a minute to thank each rater for taking the time to offer suggestions on your behalf.

At a high level, you can share what you appreciated hearing in the feedback (e.g., a couple of strengths or areas where others recognize your efforts). It is also essential to show your raters where you plan to improve your leadership (e.g., what you plan to do differently). At this point, you do not have to provide specific details but show people that you listened and are using what you learned from the 360 feedback process.

The Next Step Is the Action Plan

Understanding the feedback you receive (and showing others that you heard their feedback) from a 360 feedback process is a critical first step. Certainly, 360 feedback does not end here. The next step is to create and execute a plan of action based on what you have learned.

Want to Learn More?

Our favorite book on the subject of receiving feedback is Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (even when it is off base, unfair, poorly delivered, and frankly, you’re not in the mood) By Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen

Author: Cathleen Swody

Cathleen Swody

Cathleen is an industrial/organizational psychologist with an uncanny ability to turn data and research into meaningful professional growth. Senior leaders call her when they are not sure whom to hire, how to advance their own or their team’s development, or how to distill insights from reams of data. She is ferocious in pursuing insights, unassuming in her approach, and engaging on stage and across the table. Dr. Swody is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business, a runner, and a bookworm. Originally from New Jersey, she resides in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and completely spoiled dog, Foster.