JOIN USLeadership needs a new evaluation
In a large organisation, how can the management formalise this feedback process?
This is where 360 degree multi-rater survey comes in, wherein various stakeholders like peers, team members, customers and managers are invited to rate the behaviours and competencies of every leader. A survey tool is typically used to capture the ratings of different stakeholders.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, MphasiS Vice-President and head (Global Learning and Analytics) Kannan T says, “A 360 degree survey jolts the leaders out of their glass cabins, converts the glass walls into mirrors and shows them what they are: excellent leaders or egoistic megalomaniacs.” The focus of leaders shifts from self-centricity to the reflections that show the perceptions of others. From a results-obsession, they start focusing on the people around them. This gives the leader a completely different perspective making him a better person and a better leader. Eventually, this will lead to better results, he adds.
Benefits for the organisation: One of the primary gains of a 360 degree survey for an organisation lies in shaping the culture. A 360 degree survey, when done repeatedly, enhances a culture of openness. “I have seen people change dramatically after they are given feedback that they are perceived as being closed and arrogant. They start making an effort to react to new ideas and feedback appropriately rather than arrogantly,” Kannan said.
Kannan emphasises that a 360 degree survey is a great tool to assess the leadership bench strength and institute initiatives to bring about difficult behavioural changes. “We, at MphasiS, have many of our organisational development initiatives originating from the results of the 360 degree survey,” he adds. As per a Corporate Leadership Council study, 60-90 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies are using 360 degree survey.
Benefits for the individual: Very often, we tend to overlook the “Self” reflection involved in a 360 survey. A 360 degree survey, in the first place, engages the employee on a process of self-discovery through a self-appraisal.
It sets the baseline. Once the baseline is set, then the assessee starts seeing others’ feedback in the right context. Every category of stakeholders could give different scores and it is important to introspect why are we behaving differently with different stakeholders?
Through this process of introspection, the 360 degree survey unravels the strengths and weaknesses of a person. It also throws light on blind spots. A positive blind spot is a skill or competency, which a person believes to be a weakness but which others think is strength.
A negative blind spot is one, which a person rates as strength, but others rate it low. It is important to leverage positive blind spots and address negative blind spots. A 360 dgree survey is a great opportunity for everyone to show that they care for others’ opinions and act upon their feedback.
Building a Coaching Support System: A 360 degree report can be intimidating and baffling for most people despite it being simple. Doing a 360 degree survey without coaching is a futile exercise. Building a coaching support system is a must before rolling out a 360 degree survey.
A coach helps the leaders through the journey of self-discovery and helps them to prioritise development goals, come out with action items and track them to closure.
Challenges: The major challenge faced in implementing a 360 lies in overcoming the reluctance of participants to receive or give feedback. “At Mphasis, we have tried to overcome this, by ensuring absolute confidentiality of all responses and by launching an information campaign on the benefits of a 360 degree survey,” says Kannan. The other crucial aspect that influences a survey is the natural bias raters may have. A rater could be heavily influenced by the first impression or by the latest events and lose objectivity in the rating process. The coaches play a large role in identifying biases and downplaying them.
Part of a larger ecosystem: Finally, a 360 degree survey is not a standalone solution for all organisational ills. It has to be a part of a larger ecosystem that nurtures and develops its employees. It is effective, when it is used in conjunction with various other tools and processes like the employee engagement survey, talent assessment, coaching, appraisals and training initiatives.
Beyond 360: Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have become great hits to provide instant feedback. They have revolutionised the social landscape giving voice to the common man. The question before us is how to tap the potential of social networks within a corporate. MphasiS has taken a step in that direction through an internal social networking platform called Mingle.
The corporate social network can give feedback that is instant, informal and ingenious. It forces people to listen and act. The successful corporates of the future will marry the traditional approaches of a 360 degree feedback with the informal channels like the social networks. As an individual, whatever be the mode, be open to feedback. Keep your windows open and let the breeze in.
Wipro Limited General Manager (Human Resources) Sailesh Menezes says, “A 360 degree leadership feedback process is important not just for leadership development but also to assist organisations in identifying leadership talent for critical roles. Wipro has a robust 360 degree leadership feedback process also known as the ‘Wipro Leaders’ Qualities’ Survey where all middle management and above leaders receive feedback on six key leadership qualities from their direct circle of influence like managers, peers and reportees.”
According to Menezes, this process has been instrumental in helping Wipro identify key leadership strengths and is an integral part of leadership lifecycle processes. Accenture India Global Talent Strategy Lead in the Global HR CoE, Lakshmi C says, “In today’s changing and volatile world organizations are continually looking for ways to improve performance.
Receiving feedback is critical to learning and a 360 degree survey has served individuals well as has been found to enhance performance and reflect perception of supervisors, peers and team members on the leadership behaviours demonstrated. It has the ability to provide structured, in-depth information about current actions and what will be required of an individual in the future to enable investment in enhancing their strengths and areas of development.
At Accenture, using the 360 degree survey has benefited us to improve our performance management processes - by helping people with input on how they have accomplished what they needed to. Individuals are able to foresee and evaluate potential issues that might be affecting their career and identify the areas where career counseling and coaching will be of assistance. The tool helps the organisation direct individual’s to reflect on their strengths and seek improvement. As an organisation, it helps us inform leaders that we need to say what we will do and then do what we said we will.
Kenexa Consulting Director (EMEA) Bob Bergman says, “An individual’s potential and capability to lead can be measured in just one day. Diagnostic tools are used to measure leadership capability and leadership preferences of management groups and talent pools. One of the tools used for measuring capability for leadership include is 360 degree/Multi-Rater Feedback.
Through 360 Degree-Multi-Rater Feedback programmes, Kenexa enables leaders across organisations to create sustainable organisational improvement by helping them become more effective leaders. 360 degree programmes are typically used either for individual development or for organisational improvement. While the primary focus of our 360 degree feedback solution is individual development, our powerful reporting and action planning tools also enable leaders to drive fully aligned, strategic change within their entire organisation.
Kenexa offers three types of a 360 Degree-Multi-Rater reporting-Individual, Aggregate and Ad Hoc reporting. Individual feedback reports highlight the participant’s perceived strengths and developmental needs, while aggregate and ad hoc reports provide actionable organisational information. Through this, we help leaders drive results-focused, strategic change within the organisation. Rather than emphasising individual cognitive ability or personality, the focus of a 360 Degree-Multi-Rater Feedback Solution is on behaviour change.
Feedback is integrated into the individual development planning tool for point-and-click action planning and follow-through. This enables leaders to view survey results, examine priority issues and access resources for improvement. Combining coaching with development tools increases the long-term success of the leadership development initiative, which ultimately improves the overall organisational performance.”