“Thank God for 360 feedback – one of the most effective tools for managers and leaders who want to keep getting better at what they do.” Bill George, former CEO, Medtronics and author of True North, speaking at Human Resource Leadership Forum.
Personal note: A big thank you to K.H. a client who had the wisdom and courage to share his 360 results with each of his direct reports and ask them to talk openly about their own stories, experiences of and responses to him as a leader. He was profoundly changed by this experience, and has generously given me permission to refine the process and pay it forward.
The Triple Feedback Loop is a simple and powerful way to boost the value of 360 feedback and immediately increase trust, engagement and the leader’s effectiveness.
The standard 360 stops short of mining the greater riches contained within the feedback.
The Triple Feedback Loop provides you with a deeper understanding of your impact, how and why people respond the way they do, and what you can do to achieve your ideal outcomes. In addition, you will be and be seen as a better leader during the assessment itself. Additional benefits of Triple Feedback Loop include:
- More direct and open feedback now and in the future
- Increased trust
- Greater engagement of direct reports and peers
Standard 360 vs. the Triple Feedback Loop
Customizing the 360 process
Standard: You, your manager and your coach clarify why you want feedback and in what areas. A survey is selected and administered. In addition the coach conducts 1:1 interviews with your manager, peers, and direct reports, and may include others such as members of the board, your family, and customers.
Triple Feedback Loop: The coach also asks direct report what areas you need to explore and they identify potential responders. One Vice President of Sales intended to include only his direct reports, manager and customers. Using the Triple Feedback Loop led him to include his peers on the advice of his direct reports who knew these collegial relationships with Markeing and Engineering were a problem. The additional peer feedback allowed the VP to address issues that would otherwise have remained outside of his awareness. Including direct reports in the design of the 360 process also increased mutual respect, trust, openness, and emotional engagement with the VP’s vision and goals.
Reviewing Results
Standard: After the survey is administered and interviews are completed, the coach synthesizes results. You review them together to develop a greater understanding of your impact as a leader and create a development plan to address key areas.
Triple Feedback Loop: After you’ve had several days to digest and internalize the feedback you and your coach meet to prepare for 1:1 meetings with your responders to review the themes of the 360 feedback. This phase may require coaching on how to remain open, to inquire, explore, and listen empathically without being defensive. Working with the coach to establish and maintain this stance is critical. The objective of these meetings is to gain a deeper understanding of your self and others. You ask people to share stories and examples from their personal experiences of you. (Caution: If there is low trust and openness or little positive history with direct feedback more organizational preparation is needed before this step.)
Stories reveal what is personally important and emotionally significant. They inform you about how the story teller makes sense of what you do – or don’t do. Personal stories are key to understanding why you impact individuals in certain ways. The feedback results provide information but people’s stories provide the tone, texture and context that allow you to understand situations and people, including yourself, at the deeper levels that are critical for change to take place. In addition, the very act of paying attention to people’s stories and their emotions increases trust, openness and engagement.
Learning ,Change and Re-assessment
Triple Feedback Loop: As you implement you formal learning plan involve key responders . They can be spotters who observe and provide feedback on identified behaviors, role-models, teachers, sounding boards and more. In addition check back with responders every 3 months. Research indicates that leaders who follow up at regular intervals make more positive gains in feedback ratings compared to those who pursue little or no follow up.
Case Study Results
In a situation where business performance was suffering due to lack of emotional engagement with his team, K.H. received the following feedback at his 3 month re-assessment. In addition, within one year his team exceeded all sales goals. Two years later, they did so again.
“For the first time I felt he really listened to me. Now I want to come to work and support him instead of putting in the least effort to say I got the job done.”
“Our relationship has grown more in the past 6 months than it had in the previous 2 years.”
“He is paying attention and giving me the time I need to talk about what’s important to my business, so I go to him more for advice and counsel. This is making a big difference. He knows what’s going on in my business now, so we identify and solve problems faster.”
“I feel like he values me more, so I’m doing more.”