I don’t think anyone walks into a 360 review comfortable with the process; the idea of a range of people anonymously commenting on you in a setting that affects you career is nerve racking! But the results are usually very useful for developing your leadership, even if they’re not a lot of fun to get. This article promotes the idea (which I wholeheartedly agree with) that the best leaders don’t get the lowest score on the 360, but they have stand out strengths. With that in mind, knowing you can’t be perfect, this article is a great resource for reading in preparation to receiving your feedback.

Whilst this is specifically written for those who receive disappointing results, the approaches suggested, such as not starting a witch hunt and letting the results sink in (sleep on them) before deciding how to respond are useful for everyone. The article even includes case studies, which are a great way to translate theories to action.

Tiny bit of the article:

“Do:

• Remember that feedback — positive or negative — is an opportunity to see your leadership in new light
• Ask yourself what the value of changing a behavior is before you spend time and energy on it
• Commit to what you’re going to change and how with your team or manager

Don’t:

• Try to seek out your detractors for more information
• Attempt to change every negative behavior — be discerning about which ones to focus on
• Instinctively focus on the negative — most reviews contain both good and bad feedback”