Who Are the Stakeholders in a 360 Degree Assessment Review Measuring Executive Presence?
A 360 degree assessment can help leaders grow in essential ways, learning what is blocking them from achieving greater success. When leaders need to improve their executive presence, a 360 feedback tool provides indispensable insights. Executive presence is all about perception, and the 360 degree assessment reveals how people across the organization perceive them. When conducted by an experienced executive coach, they’ll learn which of the executive presence domains they need to grow stronger in. And they’ll create a plan of action for improving in these ways, thereby building their influence in all directions.
Identify the Stakeholders Involved in a 360 Degree Assessment Review
To launch a 360 degree review process, you must begin by identifying the stakeholders to involve. Understanding which participants to invite will make or break the success of your 360 degree survey.
The stakeholders in the review are all the people who have something to gain by helping the reviewee improve her performance. The specific people selected to participate in the review will represent broader groups of stakeholders. All of them should have experience working closely with the reviewee, so they’ll have relevant input to share.
A 360 leadership assessment can have up to 7 types of stakeholders:
- Direct reports
- Superiors
- Peers who work closely with the reviewee
- Colleagues in other functions
- Clients
- Vendors
- The individual being reviewed
All of these people work with the leader in different ways. This interaction allows them to observe the reviewee’s behavior on a consistent basis. Some will interact on a daily basis, while others may interact less frequently, but either way, they have valuable perspectives to share.
Together, these stakeholders cover both internal and external viewpoints, along with a wide range of internal perspectives. While the “vendor” category may not always apply, organizations should strive to include the other types of stakeholders in every 360 degree review. All of this feedback will shine light on whether the leader maintains respectful working relationships with everyone, strives to help others perform at their best, and focuses on what’s best for the team. The leader being reviewed should conduct a self-assessment, too, so this feedback can be compared against that of the other reviewers.
In total, try to include around a dozen reviewers. Work to select people who are likely to share a range of feedback. In other words, don’t just choose the reviewee’s closest work friends; choose people who are likely to give “constructive” as well as “positive” feedback. Further, make sure reviewers as a whole have worked with the reviewee across a broad spectrum of settings.
The 7 Stakeholders involved in a 360 Degree Assessment Review
Direct Reports
Being reviewed by direct reports allows a leader to understand how effectively she is coaching and mentoring others. Leaders will learn what is working well, along with what they need to change about their approach. They could gain suggestions for revamping or fine-tuning their leadership style from a 360 degree assessment.
Senior Leaders
As in a traditional evaluation, a boss can provide valuable perspectives as well—after all, the boss ideally works hard to closely observe the reviewee’s progress. But other superiors can also share important insights. The reviewee will learn how she is perceived by leaders who are not necessarily making a conscious effort to watch her progress. Whether such leaders perceive her as influential, understand her skill set, and can point to her accomplishments speaks volumes.
Peers
Peers will have valuable insights on communication and collaboration skills. They’ll be able to speak to whether the reviewee rises to the top in group situations that demand strong leadership. Such insights could reveal a growing executive presence. Conversely, if the leader doesn’t seize the reins when someone needs to step up to the plate, that would be a vital area for growth.
Cross-functional Colleagues
Meanwhile, colleagues across functions will also illuminate whether the reviewee works hard to communicate clearly, follow through on commitments, and help cross-functional projects run smoothly. Maintaining cross-functional relationships requires extra effort, making the perspectives of these colleagues quite valuable.
Clients
Reviews by clients show the impression a leader is making on the people served by the organization. Leaders will see how well they’re representing the company to their target audience.
Vendors
Asking vendors to provide a review helps reveal whether the leader remains professional in all situations. You’ll learn whether the leader treats everyone with the same care and respect.
The Reviewee
Reviewees should complete a self-assessment as well so they can compare their own perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses against others’ perceptions. They’ll gain a stronger understanding of their blind spots and hidden strengths through this practice. For instance, is their poor communication in meetings holding them back from showing up as a leader with executive presence? Or are they highly persuasive one-on-one with peers, but they need to learn how to bring those same strengths to meetings with senior leaders?
When you include all of these types of stakeholders in your 360 degree reviews, leaders will benefit from a broad range of constructive feedback. They’ll gain a rich understanding of how to take their performance to the next level. And reviewers will have the satisfaction of helping a colleague improve in meaningful ways that benefit the entire workplace!
An experienced executive presence coach will conduct a 360 degree assessment process with skill. Moreover, leaders will gain expert guidance in interpreting and working with their results. Contact Joel to discuss how to get started.
Joel also conducts executive presence training to corporations wanting their employees to elevate their executive presence.
