360 degree feedback simply explained: definition, goals, opportunities and risks

360 degree feedback simply explained

Definition, goals, opportunities and risks

What is a 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is a generic term for the actually more precise formulation “multi source feedback”, or “multi rater feedback”.

Characteristic is the comparison of the self-perception and the perception of others of a person, the so-called feedback recipient. The perception of others usually differs between relevant groups of feedback providers (e.g. managers, colleagues, employees) in order to show a variety of perspectives regarding different perceptions and expectations.

Classically (but by no means exclusively) 360 degree feedback is used as an instrument of leadership development and can be found in literature and practice also under synonyms, such as bottom-up feedback, upward feedback, 90° | 180° | 270° | 720° feedback, 360° evaluation, executive evaluation, FullCircle, management/leadership circle or 3sixty. Innovative tools for the agile working world bear names like Ongoing Feedback or Always-on Feedback.

Common to all variants is that questionnaires are used to measure professionally relevant competences and performance of the focus persons as precisely as possible and then to derive suitable follow-up activities from the resulting strengths/weaknesses profile. The feedback providers are assured that their feedback is evaluated in such a way that it remains anonymous. This makes open and actually helpful feedback more likely overall. These follow-up processes are usually accompanied professionally by a 360° coach.

Superiors (top-down perspective)

The top-down perspective is usually not anonymous, as it can often only be filled in by one executive.

Additional groups

Often internal and/or external customers are also interviewed. Depending on the context, relatives, parents, trainers etc. can also be integrated.

Direct employees

Feedback should always be given by all employees. Subgroups can be formed if the executive leads several teams.

Colleagues

Colleagues are people with close interaction with the focus person. They can also work in a different area, possibly at different hierarchical levels. (Recommendation: 5 ± 2)

What goals are typically pursued with 360 degree feedback?

A 360 degree feedback is either positioned as a pure instrument of personnel development or is used in the context of performance management (e.g. selection, bonus payments, career development). It is considered problematic to combine both objectives, as the resulting framework conditions cannot be derived consistently (Church, Bracken, Fleenor, & Rose, 2019). For the success of the method it is essential that the underlying objective is communicated transparently to all those involved. Most 360° processes either pursue individual personnel development as the sole goal, or define this intention as particularly important (Holtmeier, S., & Mertin, I., 2020), which in practice is then often (but by no means always) formulated as follows:

Objective 1

Encouraging self-reflection

Get realistic and honest feedback
Identify success factors and obstacles for good cooperation

Objective 2

Establishing a feedback culture

Signalling willingness to change
Taking a further step towards a trust-based feedback culture

Objective 3

Deriving measures

Leading by example
Encouraging motivation for personal development
Deriving concrete and focused actions from the results

What opportunities and what risks does 360° feedback entail?

Opportunities

The 360° feedback holds a mirror in front of the feedback recipients and helps them to recognise “blind spots” in their self-image and to derive the right steps for personal professional success.
A comprehensive evaluation by many people is fairer than one based on only a few impressions from a few people. The manager alone, for example, is not the best source for a balanced evaluation.
Feedback recipients receive a blueprint of “good leadership behaviour” via the questionnaire used and can align their behaviour according to it.
Management development is given a more objective basis.
Some teams and projects work very well while others work completely ineffectively. Regular 360-degree feedback can act like a vaccination and help to resolve conflicts in advance.
The company management receives unfiltered and objective information in summarised form about the actually lived corporate and leadership culture.

Risks

If doubts about anonymity and data protection arise, there is a risk of not receiving completely honest and open feedback.
Under the protection of the promised anonymity, individual feedback providers could be tempted to make evaluations which do not aim to find a constructive solution
Positive results in 360 degree feedback could be strongly related to sympathy and conflict avoidance.
The lack of a possibility to assign feedback to persons could lead to the search for “culprits” and promote conflicts.
If the results of the 360 degree feedback do not lead to visible and positive changes, it frustrates all those involved and reduces motivation for future implementations.

These risks must be taken seriously. Our chapter “Success factors for 360-degree feedback” describes how unintended negative effects can be counteracted.