Leadership Intelligence Blog

Five Ways to Move Forward After a Negative 360-Degree Review

The Harvard Business Review recently published an article by Amy Gallo: "Bouncing Back from a Negative 360-Degree Review." In the article, Gallo addresses five ways to effectively move forward in the face of a negative 360-degree feedback survey report:

Reflect before reacting

Don't do anything until you've let the results of your 360-degree feedback settle in your mind. Let time take the edge off the initial emotion that is inevitable after receiving negative feedback. Try to place the feedback into the context of your work environment and feedback you have received before.

Avoid a witch hunt

Never search out where the negative feedback may be coming from. Sometimes, you may find clues indentifying who said what. Try not to read into the clues. Let the survey be anonymous as it was intended to be and take the feedback as cohesive feedback rather than interpreting specific data points. 

Decide what to respond to

Trying to process and change every piece of feedback from a 360 assessment can be overwhelming and also ineffective. Prioritize what is most affecting your leadership abilities and target those issues first.

Talk with your manager or team

Avoid trying to process the assessment in solitude. The feedback came from your work community. Use their further insights and suggestions in deciding how to proceed. Be open to their responses.

Commit to Change

The decision to change is the most important part of receiving a negative 360-degree review. Using the assessment as a catalyst for change essentially transforms the results from a negative distracter into a motivator and a positive development tool.

Read more: article in the Harvard Business Review.

Do You Have a Fixed or a Growth Mindset?

Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, defines two opposite mindsets that help define one's ability to adapt and change.

The first is a fixed mindset. People with fixed mindsets tend to believe that their skills, abilities, and talents are static. It's a limiting approach. Having a fixed mindset can be traced to the definitive praise we received as a child, which ultimately decided our strengths-- "You're smart!" "You are good at basketball!" The same fixed mindset will define our weaknesses as well: "I'm no good at public speaking." "I'm a terrible bowler." and "I can't draw."

Those with fixed mindsets tend to be wary of attempting to change and grow. Thus, someone with a fixed mindset not only believes that his or her talents are static, but ultimately creates a static set of talents and skills because they shrink from the opportunity to change.

A growth mindset is the opposite-- liberating, empowering, and motivating. Those with growth mindsets know that they are not limited to their current abilities and skills. They search for opportunities to improve because they see their talents as ever-morphing into a new set. Their weaknesses aren't permanent.

We've found that leadership coaching is not effective if the coachee feels that "they are who they are" and others just need to accept it. 360-degree feedback helps to foster a growth mindset because it acts as a catalyst to confront issues and challenge individuals to change.  

One can't change unless they believe change is possible.

Do you tend towards a fixed or growth mindset?  How does fostering a growth mindset change your perception of others and their abilities? Share an example when a growth mindset facilitated change for you, your organization, or someone you know.

How to Dispell the Fear of 360-Degree Feedback

Many employees experience fear, anxiety, and distrust when they hear that their company is about to conduct 360-degree feedback surveys. Participants worry about what people will say about them and how the results will be used. Those providing feedback fear that they might be identified by their comments and the person will react negatively towards them.

On both the organization and individual level, proper communication should be used before conducting 360-degree feedback surveys to ease anxiety and ensure valid results. Employees should be briefed on the reasons for the 360 survey, the survey process, and how the results will be used. They should also be given the opportunity to ask questions about the 360-degree feedback process. Employees are more likely to have a positive experience with the feedback process when they know more about it.

Most importantly, giving forewarning and clear communication prior to the administration of a 360 survey lessens opportunities for miscommunication and fosters trust between the company and the employees. With a clear understanding and increased trust, employees are more likely to participate and more likely to give honest feedback. Employees that are given communication prior to the 360-degree feedback process are also more inclined to change as a result of the feedback they receive.

How to Deal with a Workplace Bully

Unfortunately, some people aren’t nice. And unfortunately, one of those people might be your boss. In an article from Time magazine: “Worker abuse is a widespread problem - in a 2007 Zogby poll, 37% of American adults said they had been bullied at work…” (Yahoo! News)

Most often, bullying trickles down from management to the employees. Positions of superiority and power are conducive to malice and poor treatment of employees. In the past, bullied employees have just left the organization and the bullying for a new job; however, in the recent bad economy, walking out usually isn’t an option.

What do you do to rehabilitate a bully in your organization?

Bullies must be made aware of the effect of their behavior on others. A thorough assessment of the manager's behavioral performance with an instrument like a 360-degree feedback survey can provide the initiative to change.

A 360 evaluation of overall performance must include a derailers section. In the past, we’ve written about derailers and the importance of measuring these key negative behaviors. Derailers are behaviors that get in the way of progress. A derailer is not just a weakness. We all have weaknesses that we may never choose to fix or master. A derailer is a weakness that requires improvement.

Leadership coaching must be provided for a bully, either from the bully’s manager or an outside coach. The goal is to develop an action plan and provide follow-up support and accountability during the improvement process.

We have found that these types of managers—the mean, malice-filled managers—can and do change with proper support. However, the manager must want to change, understand exactly what needs to change, develop an action plan to make it happen, and receive on-going support and follow-through.  

Can You Pass the Invisible Gorilla Test?

First, watch the video below and count the number of passes the people dressed in white make:

But did you see the gorilla?

In a study done by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris in 1999, over half of the people shown this video did not notice the gorilla . The study proved that when people are focused carefully on something, they often fail to notice surprising events-- even when the event happens right in the open.

Our research using 360-degree feedback surveys with leaders confirms this simple study. When people are focused on something (as they generally are), they often fail to notice surprising situations, other's perceptions, and problems on their teams. They don't notice the man in a gorilla suit walking right through the room.

"Although people do still try to rationalize why they missed the gorilla, it's hard to explain such a failure of awareness without confronting the possibility that we are aware of far less of our world than we think," Simons told LiveScience. (Yahoo! News)

Once we acknowledge our lack of awareness, we recognize the need for assistance. 360-degree feedback provides self-awareness and helps identify the "invisible gorilla" issues that impede leaders from reaching their full potential.

5 Myths of 360 Degree Feedback

A brief YouTube presentation from DecisionWise details 5 myths of 360-degree feedback and the real truth behind the myths.

Which is a Better Motivator: Negative or Positive Emotion?

Feedback is designed to motivate change. Employee surveys, self-assessments, 360-degree feedback, and performance reviews are worthless if they don't inspire change and development. The hard part is making the leap from feedback to change results. The leap is often a big one, over a seemingly deep and dangerous canyon.

How do you motivate an employee receiving 360-degree feedback to make the leap? What will inspire management to jump after seeing the results of an organization-wide employee engagement survey?

In the Heath brothers' book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, they assert that inspiring change requires channeling appropriate feeling and emotion.

Feedback (employee surveys, 360-degree feedback, etc.) can be seen as a slap in the face that creates negative responses that, in turn, motivate change. The Switch authors note: "We often hear that people change only when a crisis compels them to, which implies that we need to create a sense of fear or anxiety or doom." Is it true?

The Heath brothers refer to a "burning platform", a phrase that describes a horrific gas leak explosion in 1988 on an oil rig. Survivors of the accident had a choice: jump into the sea or burn to death on the platform of the oil rig. In that situation, fear elicited response. Survivors jumped and lived. Yes, negative emotion motivates change.

Are negative responses the best way to motivate a response after feedback? No doubt, it's one method. In fact, most people initially respond with negative emotion after receiving lower-than-expected 360-degree feedback or employee survey scores. But the Heath brothers argue that it's not the most effective.

Positive emotion is stronger and facilitates creative responses to feedback. Positive, hopeful emotion motivates broader change and unique (personally-adapted) solutions that are more effective. "We need to encourage open minds, creativity, and hope," assert the Heath brothers. How should this be done in conjunction with the fear and anger that seem to naturally arise after receiving low scores on feedback assessments?

1. Put out the fire on the burning rig by helping people "engage fresh thinking and enthusiasm." 
2. Focus on positive results and elicit good feelings.
3. Ask 'what if' questions.
4. Set short term goals.
5. Promote hope for improvement and success.
6. Facilitate positive reactions by communicating the power of change and the success that's in reach, just on the other side of the canyon.

Feedback can be used as a negative slap in the face to motivate change, but positive responses to feedback are more powerful and longer lasting. Feedback used correctly creates positive emotion. Initial negative feelings can be turned into hopeful emotion and generate creative solutions through effective coaching.

In this way, feedback is turned into results.

Three Ways to Use Your Mission Statement

In most organizations, the mission statement hangs in a dusty frame on the wall. Written with good intentions, it has long been forgotten. The statement has become an ugly lobby decoration.

When employees and managers are disconnected from the company's mission statement, employee engagement suffers. Those leaders who have been most successful during this economy have been those that have been able to rally their troops around a common cause and refocus them on the core of the business. Those who are most successful use their mission statement.

Here are three ways to use your mission statement to impact company results:

1. Promote the mission statement internally. External communication and advertising about a company's mission statement has always been important. Often the mission statement is purely an outside publicity tool. But what we seem to forget is the importance of communicating and promoting the mission statement internally. The mission statement should be branded, used in company emails and communications, publicized in company meetings, and found ubiquitously in working spaces (not just the lobby).

2. Let the mission statement drive company priorities. Put your money where your mouth is. Business priorities should be derived from the mission statement. The mission statement should dictate where money is allocated, what projects are begun, who is hired and promoted, and what the executive team is focusing on. The mission statement should be used in every decision to ensure proper focus.

3. Evaluate employee alignment with the mission statement. In order to progress, organizations must be able to take a pulse of the current situation. Periodically, managers should be evaluated for their commitment and understanding of the mission statement using 360-degree feedback. To measure the trickle-down of the mission statement from managers to individual contributors, use employee surveys to measure company-wide alignment with the values of the mission statement.

4 Ways to Wreck a 360 Degree Feedback Process

Every once in a while, I talk to someone who shares a bad experience about 360 degree feedback.  In every instance, I've seen that at least one of the following four factors played a role:

1. No Coaching:  Without support to help interpret and use the results, most people will zero in on their negative feedback and begin speculating on who gave them bad scores.  Others will discount their feedback because they don't know how to process it and use it to make changes.  Either way, some type of leadership coaching needs to be provided to help 360 degree feedback participants use their results effectively.

2. Lack of Confidentiality:  Many times this happens when a company purchases a software program to run 360 degree feedback internally. Unfortunately, people begin to think that HR will be able to see who said what. Raters become reluctant to provide honest feedback and participants worry if the results will be used against them. Outsourcing the process to a professional 360 degree feedback company increases the perceived confidentiality of the process.

3. Poor Rater Selection: Participants should have input into who is chosen to provide them feedback. If they don't have a say, they may discount their feedback because they don't think their rater group is relevant.  If they have complete control they may "stack the deck" in their favor. We recommend allowing participants to choose their raters with guidance and final approval from their manager.

4. Irrelevant 360 Survey: If the 360 degree feedback survey does not measure relevant leadership competencies and behaviors, the participants will discount the feedback.  We recommend using a customized 360 survey or a standard 360 survey that matches the values, culture, and expectations of the organization.

Can 360-Degree Feedback be used to Predict Long-Term Performance?

Many organizations struggle to link nonfinancial metrics with results. We conducted a three-year study with several hundred employees in various industries that analyzed the results of performance evaluations, production performance, and 360-degree feedback. Surprisingly, this study showed no correlation between 360-degree feedback scores and performance evaluations. Employees scoring high on their performance evaluations were not necessarily those who scored high on their feedback.

Some of these employees with poor feedback scores were hitting their production and financial targets. This resulted in managers receiving good performance evaluation ratings, along with accompanying raises and promotions. However, these managers' departments also experienced high levels of employee turnover and had difficulty attracting and retaining talent. It soon became clear that these managers were meeting short-term targets at the expense of long-term profitability. They were pulling out all the stops to achieve these short-term revenue targets.

CHG Healthcare Services is one of the oldest and largest healthcare staffing firms in the United States. Located in Salt Lake City, CHG has consistently been named one of Utah's most-admired companies.

"We have been gathering information on our financial and service performance since day one," says Michael Weinholtz, CHG president and CEO. "But we knew that overall business success is an outcome of more than just operational performance. We are a business that is based on people. Our ability to attract, motivate, manage, and retain talented employees is key to the company's bottom line, and we knew that we needed a way to measure those factors."

CHG discovered that 360-degree feedback provided an effective way to measure individual strengths and areas for development. This overall feedback offered some enlightening information. The results of a manager's 360-degree feedback could be used as a predictor of her financial or operational success over the next year.

"We see 360-degree feedback and employee engagement as part of our performance metrics," says CHG's Ricklefs. "Low 360 scores are a warning that employee engagement is likely to decrease unless something changes. Poor engagement scores are a signal that team performance will suffer down the road."

Much of the power of these assessments lies in what they predict about future performance. The results from these "softer side" assessments predict long-term success in performance metrics. As business partners examine the link between the softer side of management and bottom-line results, the use of 360-degree feedback scores and employee engagement assessments promises to be an important part of the process.