How to harness the power of 360 feedback
When you’re a leader, feedback can be hard to come by. Many employees are understandably hesitant to speak up and offer constructive criticism to you, and your colleagues are just as busy as you are, so they likely aren’t prioritizing sharing their observations either. This compounds the higher you climb within your organization, becoming increasingly scarce. Yet receiving authentic, well-rounded feedback is essential for growth, helping you to uncover what’s holding you back, double-down on your strengths, and see how your leadership truly impacts others. So what are you to do?
When my clients find themselves in this situation, I recommend a 360 feedback assessment, conducted via an anonymous interview process and facilitated by an objective third party, such as an executive coach. The in-person or virtual interview is a powerful tool to collect insights, and enables second and third-level questions as opposed to relying on written feedback — often over email, completed quickly by too-busy employees.
In my process, I meet with the direct client, their leader, and/or HR sponsor to understand the goals of the 360 feedback assessment (often the kick-off of a coaching engagement) then create a bespoke 360 feedback interview guide. Then, I conduct the interviews and synthesize the findings in a way that pulls forward the most important themes and insights, keeping the participants anonymous except for the direct leader's comments. As a neutral third party, I’m bound to confidentiality as a credentialed coach of the International Coaching Federation — which goes a long way to helping participants feel psychologically safe to share what they’re really thinking.
Here’s how you can successfully implement this powerful tool at your organization — and use it to improve your own leadership.
Set yourself up for success
An effective 360 feedback program isn’t something you should do without intention. It starts with careful planning.
Work backwards: Start by identifying the desired outcome of the exercise, and consider what it would take to get you there, just as you would in market research. What information could help you make decisions on how you'd like to show up as a leader? For example, would it be useful to know if your colleagues perceive you as promotion-ready, and what challenges they would anticipate you facing if you were promoted today?
Partner with a third party to design and facilitate the process: When you’re in the thick of things, it can be hard to see things clearly. An outside perspective can be invaluable. They’ll approach the process with fresh and unbiased eyes, helping to identify patterns and uncover overlooked opportunities you may be missing.
Choose participants wisely: A diverse group will yield the best results and keep the exercise from turning into an echo chamber. 8–10 participants — direct reports, peers, cross-functional leaders, and supervisors — will likely offer the most valuable viewpoints. It’s important to choose those who have perspectives you need to hear — even if you think it may not be positive.
Plan for the future: The real impact of a 360 isn’t the feedback itself, it’s how you use it. Consider how you will leverage the insights to inform your go-forward development and track progress over time, and measure success.
A well-executed 360 feedback assessment can be the foundation for deeper self-awareness, stronger leadership, and serve as a benchmark for your effectiveness. This isn’t the time for shortcuts.
Ask yourself: What do I hope to learn from a 360 feedback assessment? How will I leverage the information to increase my awareness and inform my actions as I look to grow my effectiveness as a leader?
Approach the process with curiosity
While 360 assessments are extremely useful, it may also spark a sense of trepidation. It’s uncomfortable to know that someone is interviewing your colleagues and talking about you. Remind yourself that feedback is a gift, not an attack or punishment.
When we receive feedback, human beings respond through a predictable set of experiences, especially when the feedback is new or challenges our assumptions about ourselves. The S.A.R.A.H. model can help you to understand this process more easily.
S: Surprise
A: Anger
R: Rejection
A: Acceptance
H: Help / Hypothesis
When receiving new feedback, we often start out feeling surprised (and sometimes even shocked) by it. That surprise turns to anger, as we may feel that we’ve been misunderstood or unfairly evaluated by others. Our anger leads us to rejection, dismissing the feedback because we consider it to be invalid in some way. However, with time, we are able to accept that there may be truth to the feedback, even if we still hurt. Finally, we seek out others’ help in interpreting the feedback, developing hypotheses about why others may see us or the situation this way. Then, we can determine the best path forward.
To see this in action, let’s consider a client who recently underwent this process. We’ll call him Andrew. Andrew feels ready to be promoted to SVP, and requested that I ask C-Suite leadership if they would support his promotion early next year. The answer was difficult to take in, as two-thirds of the C-Suite would not promote him if he was in their functional department. They raised concerns about Andrew’s self-awareness, and somewhat ironically, his perceived inaction in response to feedback that they’d previously given — which they believed he consistently dismissed — as key detractors. In response to learning this information, Andrew’s instinct was to meet with the reviewers and share his perspective — his “origin story” — which would only exacerbate the perception as he once again wasn’t making meaning of the feedback. This was an “a-ha” moment for Andrew, as his instinct is to dig in rather than internalize what was being said. Instead, Andrew needed to create allies at the top by seeking out advice — and acting on it — so he can show up as he intends.
The key to getting the most out of a 360 is to shift your mindset from anxiety to curiosity. Instead of viewing feedback as a judgment, reframe it. This could look like moving from a place of “What will they say about me?” to “What can I learn from this?” Get curious, and focus on discovering patterns — both strengths to build on and blind spots to address — without getting stuck on who may have said what or whether it’s representative of what actually happened. That’s where Andrew’s shift needed to happen.
Remember, feedback reflects others' perceptions, not necessarily the truth of a situation, and is meant to illuminate how your leadership is experienced. By staying open and engaging with the process as an opportunity for development, you’ll demonstrate your commitment to professional development. You’re also showing your team we all have areas of opportunity, that you too are vulnerable and willing to put yourself out there to continue to learn, grow and evolve.
Ask yourself: How do I typically receive feedback? Do I need to adjust my mindset?
Make all participants feel safe
In order for 360 reviews to work, everyone needs to feel safe participating. If your organization hasn’t historically been a place where feedback is welcome, you’ll need to create trust in the process. Two things can go a long way in helping people feel comfortable: confidentiality and impartiality.
While some organizations conduct this practice internally, bringing in an “outsider” to facilitate will help participants on both sides to feel confident in the process. For those giving feedback, an impartial third party can put them at ease. You don’t want anyone’s responses going through a filter, so don’t give people a reason to hold back.
The 360 should also be kept strictly confidential between the coach and the direct participant, allowing you to select with whom and how much of your report you’d like to share with other members of your organization, as this can be a deeply personal experience. Many of the people I work with do elect to share a portion of their assessment with their boss or business partner, but they want to make that choice for themselves and perhaps elect to share after they’ve had a moment to digest it. They trust me to keep things confidential because, as a coach, I’m neutral.
Ask yourself: How can I communicate to my team that it’s safe to be a part of this exercise?
Sir Francis Bacon was right when he said, “Knowledge is power.” A 360 feedback assessment offers leaders a powerful opportunity to grow, yet its success hinges on thoughtful preparation, trust, and curiosity. When done right, it has the potential to be a tool for lasting development — not just for you, but your entire organization.