Don't Wait for the 360

Are you expecting a 360 evaluation in your organization this year?

I spent considerable time with two organizations administering their online 360 evaluation systems. Leaders send out surveys to their direct report (and sometimes peers and bosses) and then wait for the feedback to pour in.

And pour in it does.

Sometimes it floods in with data so diverse you wonder if everyone had the same survey directions.

And sometimes it doesn't pour in much at all. I've observed teams who swore that the feedback was NOT going to be anonymous (it absolutely was) so they withheld it. Why get in trouble? Why tell the truth under observation?

Except, isn't it the truth we're after? Isn't that the only kind of feedback that matters -- truthful feedback.

Whether or not it's accurate, we want it to be truthful: we want the evaluators to say what they really feel. Or do we?

What if they feel hurtful? What if they are mean spirited? Why if they unfairly lambaste a leader just because they didn't get the raise they'd hoped for?

I've seen all of that happen, and more. Any online anonymous 360 feedback tool is flawed. I'm not saying that we shouldn't use them. For many leaders they absolutely have value.

But, if you're waiting for a 360 survey to tell you what employees really think it's already too late.

What leaders need most is real-time feedback. Face to face feedback. Open, respectful, honest feedback. Dialogue. We don't need to grade each other. What we need is direction on how we're doing in connection with our mission and goals. What leaders need is knowing if the environment on their team is motivating, energizing, healthy, and productive.

Go ahead and participate in that 360. But please don't expect it to tell you the complete truth. You've got to ask for that in person.

Maybe you'll get it and maybe you won't. Maybe you'll appreciate it, and maybe it will lose you sleep. But you've got to ask for it sincerely, openly, honestly.

You do want to know what your people are really thinking, don't you?
-- Douglas Brent Smith

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The Gaps

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Service Problems

The problem with bad service is that it creates bad customers. Solve your service problem or the problem customers will multiply. -- doug smith

Show Up!

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Growing

Mountains never stop growing; why should we? It came as a surprise to me to learn that the Rocky Mountains are still growing. Trimmed a bit by years of erosion, they are still poking their way skyward and changing in the direction of growth. As leaders we find ourselves faced with the dynamic between growth and erosion, life and decay. Standing still leads to the less desirable choice. Growth requires our attention, our efforts, our drive. Growth requires the courage to step forward, the creativity to find new ways of dealing with challenges, the clarity of purpose to know which direction you are growing in and the compassion to forgive those who slow you down. What are you doing to spark your leadership growth today? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Who's Misunderstood?

When someone is disappointing you they may have misunderstood your intentions. (Or, maybe you have...) The challenge to misunderstanding is that we seldom understand that we have understood. The illusion of truth is as strong as steel. Disappointment, originating in unmet expectations, requires clarity to be cured. Clarify your intentions. Clarify your expectations. Clarify, and confirm. What do you think? -- doug smith

What You Need

Use what you've learned to become what you need. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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