360 Feedback for Academic Leaders

What is 360 Feedback?

360 Feedback is known by many names: 360-Degree Feedback, “multi-rater” feedback and “multisource assessment.” It is an assessment of an individual’s performance from many different perspectives – hence the “360.” It can be a highly effective leadership developmental tool, and broader intervention strategy. In addition, it supports the individual in tailoring leadership to the institution, and in improving relationships with colleagues.

Our customized 360 feedback

We specialize in formative, interview-based 360 reviews for academics.  Our 360 Assessments are designed specifically for the academic environment, to align with and leverage academic culture and dynamics. The process calls upon and supports the autonomy of the individual faculty member (or academic administrator) to engage in growth and change. In addition, it functions as a dynamic and broad-based intervention in the individual’s working context. This type of intervention can increase understanding and improve functionality in all directions.  To achieve these goals, our process relies on several strategic design points.

Our primary client is the feedback recipient.  
Benefits:

1. builds on current investments and empowers the enactment of leadership
2. preserves primary relationships between feedback recipient and supervisor
3. avoids conflict of interest

The assessment is confidential and formative in nature.

We only discuss our findings with the 360 recipient; the feedback summary data is not provided to the institution, supervisors, or colleagues.
Benefits:

1. focuses recipient attention on understanding the feedback and using it for growth (rather than distractions such as: making the right impression, protecting their status or career, or navigating the expectations or opinions of others about the process or timing for making change)
2. keeps feedback providers focused on development priorities and preferred futures (rather than on evaluation or concerns and politics related to evaluation systems)
3. focuses supervisor role on supporting development (rather than breaching the protective barrier between development and evaluation by providing development data to individuals tasked with evaluation)

The assessment is conducted at the request of the person being assessed.
Benefits:

1. takes advantage of intrinsic motivation as a way to maximize benefits of feedback
2. sets the most productive tone for the assessment process (rather than interviewees feeling that the process is suspect because a person is being required to participate)

The person being assessed has the final say regarding interview questions and interviewees.  
Benefits:

1. serves as an initial self-assessment
2. provides important information to the coach about the context, considerations, and motivations for the assessment
3. supports the individual to prioritize their own growth process and choices

We encourage the recipient to discuss assessment strategy with his or her director, chair, dean, etc.
Benefits:

1. brings an additional level of perspective, tying the individual’s development into unit growth strategy and leadership goals
2. helps to develop a supportive relationship for future growth

We engage feedback providers in a two-way conversation.
Benefits:

1. we provide a safe space where individuals can explore an often complex array of experiences, perceptions, and concerns
2. understanding each individual allow us to understand the context for the feedback being provided
3. we are sometimes able to provide context, strategies, and feedback to the feedback provider (e.g., validation of feelings associated with an experience; normalization of dynamics that are common in academic settings)  

We work with the recipient to design and implement a plan of action through a series of coaching sessions.
Benefits:

1. supports the recipient to hear, understand, and integrate feedback over time
2. facilitates application of feedback to current scenarios
3. supports iterative strategy development and implementation

We work with the recipient to strategically communicate the outcomes of the 360 evaluation to participants and other stakeholders.
Benefits:

1. recipient is able to express gratitude, calibrate expectations, and set the tone for change
2. those who provide feedback are able to see clear and direct results and participate in an ongoing conversation about their goals for the unit
3. others (including supervisors, colleagues, and staff) can be enlisted to support the change and development process

Our 360 assessment for an individual is, in fact, a system intervention. It rests on a complex adaptive systems model rather than a hierarchical model. That is, the assessment provides feedback into the system so that the system may adapt and change itself through individual and relationship adjustments. It fits well with the loosely-coupled and self-motivated academic environment. (It may not fit as well in a top-down change effort.)

Briefly – what does the process involve?

This process includes the following:

• Designing and choosing interview questions to best understand:
  • strengths and weaknesses
  • immediate and long-term priorities for development
  • progress on specific current goals
  • structural and functional realities of the role and context
• Selection of interviewees (including colleagues, staff, students, and administrators) whose responses can:
  • maximize an understanding of role performance from multiple perspectives
  • facilitate a change process through good communication channels
• Interviews by phone or video conference, or in-person
  • Note: In some cases we supplement interviews with online survey assessments
• Aggregate reporting of responses to participant
• Development of a plan for response and change

How we preserve confidentiality

Kardia Group holds all of the individual responses in confidentiality.  We report the feedback to the individual as an aggregate of the responses.  This feedback focuses on any themes or patterns that appeared in multiple responses.  As a result, the participant can benefit from the responses without identifying which interviewee(s) the comments came from.

What are the outcomes?

The participant will work with a coach/consultant from Kardia Group.  Together, they collaboratively develop a plan of action based on the responses from the interviews.  This includes prioritizing 2-3 strengths to leverage, 2-3 areas for improvement, an action plan, and follow-up communication with those providing the feedback.

To learn more

Our overall approach to leadership development informs our 360 Feedback. And, you can contact us directly with any questions.