360 Feedback Questions for Senior Executives
This article outlines the key 360 feedback areas for evaluating senior executives and highlights the most useful questions for assessing executive-level leadership performance.
These questions focus on the critical capabilities required to lead effectively at the highest organisational level and reflect the expectations defined by the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) Professional Standard for Stage 5 – Senior Executives.
At this level, leadership extends beyond managing teams or divisions. Senior executives are expected to define organisational vision, shape culture, influence stakeholders, and ensure sustainable performance in a complex and rapidly changing environment.
This set of 360 feedback questions focuses on three key areas of capability:
- Personal Effectiveness: Demonstrating integrity, visionary leadership, and strategic judgement
- Interpersonal Excellence: Inspiring confidence, influencing stakeholders, and fostering global collaboration
- Organisational Performance: Setting enterprise strategy, managing transformation, and ensuring sustainable growth
If you’re looking for questionnaires designed for other levels of leadership, see our related articles on:
360 Feedback Questions for Senior Executives – Key Areas & Most Useful Questions”
Personal Effectiveness
Role-modelling organisational values, demonstrating visionary leadership, and exercising strategic judgement
- Act with integrity
- Set the ethical tone for the organisation
- Role-model organisational values and professional standards
- Follow through on commitments and decisions
- Adapt leadership style to suit different audiences and situations
- Influence key stakeholders to gain support for organisational priorities
- Show empathy when managing relationships and decisions
- Respond flexibly to changing strategic or political contexts
- Communicate organisational vision in a clear and engaging way
- Explain complex issues in straightforward, strategic language
- Listen carefully and respond constructively to different viewpoints
- Use communication to build shared understanding across the organisation
- Use sound judgement to weigh risk and opportunity
- Make timely decisions when information is incomplete
- Stay composed and focused under sustained pressure
- Lead confidently during times of crisis or uncertainty
Interpersonal Excellence
Inspiring, influencing, representing, and building trust with stakeholders
- Present a compelling organisational vision that motivates others to act
- Influence senior colleagues to align behind shared priorities
- Build agreement across executive teams and business functions
- Encourage collective ownership of enterprise goals
- Coach senior and emerging leaders to enhance their performance
- Provide mentoring that supports long-term leadership growth
- Promote diversity, equity and inclusion in leadership decisions
- Create an environment where colleagues feel valued and able to contribute
- Address conflict directly and constructively
- Build trust with shareholders, investors and key partners
- Apply fairness and diplomacy when resolving competing interests
- Restore confidence and cooperation after disagreement
- Represent the organisation effectively with key external and internal stakeholders
- Communicate confidently in high-profile or complex external situations
- Build and sustain relationships that advance organisational interests
- Enhance the organisation’s reputation through credible and professional engagement
Organisational Performance
Setting strategy, driving transformation, managing systemic risks, and delivering long-term value
- Define and communicate the organisation’s long-term strategic direction
- Align organisational goals with relevant economic and social trends
- Incorporate environmental sustainability into strategic planning
- Identify emerging risks and opportunities in the external environment
- Lead large-scale transformation with clarity and purpose
- Inspire commitment during significant organisational change
- Champion innovation that delivers sustainable value
- Encourage experimentation and learning across the organisation
- Establish and oversee effective governance and compliance frameworks
- Strengthen organisational accountability for managing risk
- Balance the needs of shareholders, stakeholders and society when making decisions
- Act as a responsible steward of the organisation’s assets and reputation
- Allocate and manage resources to deliver strategic priorities
- Hold self and others accountable for organisational performance
- Drive sustainable financial and operational results
- Build organisational capacity to perform through disruption
If you’d like to try these questions out, why not try our self review questionnaire for senior leaders? It only takes a couple of minutes and comes with a free report.
Why Link to the CMI Professional Standard
Basing these 360 feedback questions for senior executives on the CMI Stage 5 Professional Standard ensures the assessment is aligned with an established, evidence-based framework for leadership excellence. The CMI standards define the behaviours, capabilities, and expectations required at the highest organisational level, providing a trusted benchmark for evaluating executive effectiveness.
For more information, visit the Chartered Management Institute.
Frequently Asked Questions About 360 Feedback for Senior Executives
Q. What are the key 360 feedback areas for evaluating senior executives?
A. Target questions that examine integrity, visionary leadership, strategic judgement, ability to inspire confidence, adapt their influence across diverse audiences, represent the organisation externally, champion diversity, and build strategic partnerships.
Q. Which 360 questions are most useful for assessing executive-level leadership performance?
A. Target questions that assess setting and communicating long-term vision, balancing stakeholder expectations, leading enterprise-wide transformation, ensuring sustainable growth, establishing governance and resilience, driving accountability, and deploying resources effectively.
