Poet Robert Burns said in 1785, "Oh, what a great gift we would have if we could only see ourselves as others see us". So, what indeed would happen if this gift could be given to you as a leader in your organistaion?
I recently completed a 360-degrees feedback process for one of my clients. The whole management team took part in the process, which concluded the round of coaching sessions all of them had received before or during the process.
Combining this very potent form of feedback with coaching proved to be a great success.
It not only lent extra weight to insights people had about themselves, and deepened the level of self-awareness they had gained though coaching. It also opened up a new space in the boardroom.
The change was this: Instead of trying to hide behind masks of competence and ability, trying to appear certain and all-knowing, a more realistic and humane space had opened up. People could accept the trivial (but often ignored) fact that we all are human beings, who make mistakes, and who have some weaknesses - and some strengths. The whole team gained an insight into what those particular strengths and challenges were for each member, allowing it to better prepared for the challenge of taking on the weaknesses, either working with them or around them, and helping fellow managers with skills that may need brushing up or honing. At the same time it enabled them to also take a fresh look and better, more focused advantage, of the strengths.
In other words, the very individual process of each manager’s personal and professional growth which was hitherto confined to the four walls, four eyes and four ears of coach and client, evolved, through the participation in the 360-degrees feedback process, into a shared process of growth and learning as a team.
The wealth of information gained from the process is quite extraordinary. Obviously, there is a richness of information about each individual assessed. However, there are themes and patterns that emerge, which may need attention for the company as a whole. For example, frustrations in specific teams or departments surfaced very clearly in the survey. It enabled, for instance, an immediate intervention in one case in which two departments had entertained for a long time a very fraught relationship between their senior members. In addition, as a result of the survey, the team decided to embark on a series of interventions to learn how to deal with conflict and how to improve decision-making processes, by learning more, and more systematically, about communication.
These were two examples of immediate and direct results of the process. One of the themes that emerged in this particular team was that most of its members did not manage to be appropriately assertive: they either fell into the category of being far too aggressive or behaved too passively, giving up and bottling in frustrations .
These group, or team, interventions will provide further expansion of the new opened-up space, of being realistic, yet pragmatic. Facing challenges in an open, transparent manner is a far better approach than trying to constantly impress, or to engage in blaming others for failures and generally using too much judgment and too little rational, real and constructive conversation.
Finally, after the conclusion of the process some individual managers decided to schedule limited further coaching sessions, based on specific and focused goals which have been identified through the 360-degrees feedback.
A 360-degrees process entered to by a company shows a real intention to develop its best resource: its people. However, it is critical that the process be properly conducted, and that support is in place for the participants.
More details on how 360 Degrees Process is administered at TML Coaching is available on my website: http://www.tmlcoaching.co.za/360degrees.php
I recently completed a 360-degrees feedback process for one of my clients. The whole management team took part in the process, which concluded the round of coaching sessions all of them had received before or during the process.
Combining this very potent form of feedback with coaching proved to be a great success.
It not only lent extra weight to insights people had about themselves, and deepened the level of self-awareness they had gained though coaching. It also opened up a new space in the boardroom.
The change was this: Instead of trying to hide behind masks of competence and ability, trying to appear certain and all-knowing, a more realistic and humane space had opened up. People could accept the trivial (but often ignored) fact that we all are human beings, who make mistakes, and who have some weaknesses - and some strengths. The whole team gained an insight into what those particular strengths and challenges were for each member, allowing it to better prepared for the challenge of taking on the weaknesses, either working with them or around them, and helping fellow managers with skills that may need brushing up or honing. At the same time it enabled them to also take a fresh look and better, more focused advantage, of the strengths.
In other words, the very individual process of each manager’s personal and professional growth which was hitherto confined to the four walls, four eyes and four ears of coach and client, evolved, through the participation in the 360-degrees feedback process, into a shared process of growth and learning as a team.
The wealth of information gained from the process is quite extraordinary. Obviously, there is a richness of information about each individual assessed. However, there are themes and patterns that emerge, which may need attention for the company as a whole. For example, frustrations in specific teams or departments surfaced very clearly in the survey. It enabled, for instance, an immediate intervention in one case in which two departments had entertained for a long time a very fraught relationship between their senior members. In addition, as a result of the survey, the team decided to embark on a series of interventions to learn how to deal with conflict and how to improve decision-making processes, by learning more, and more systematically, about communication.
These were two examples of immediate and direct results of the process. One of the themes that emerged in this particular team was that most of its members did not manage to be appropriately assertive: they either fell into the category of being far too aggressive or behaved too passively, giving up and bottling in frustrations .
These group, or team, interventions will provide further expansion of the new opened-up space, of being realistic, yet pragmatic. Facing challenges in an open, transparent manner is a far better approach than trying to constantly impress, or to engage in blaming others for failures and generally using too much judgment and too little rational, real and constructive conversation.
Finally, after the conclusion of the process some individual managers decided to schedule limited further coaching sessions, based on specific and focused goals which have been identified through the 360-degrees feedback.
A 360-degrees process entered to by a company shows a real intention to develop its best resource: its people. However, it is critical that the process be properly conducted, and that support is in place for the participants.
More details on how 360 Degrees Process is administered at TML Coaching is available on my website: http://www.tmlcoaching.co.za/360degrees.php
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