Once participants have taken time to reflect on their 360 feedback, the next step is to translate those insights into a meaningful and actionable plan.
Coaches play a crucial role in guiding this process, helping participants define focused objectives, consider pragmatic learning opportunities, and build a plan that supports behavioural change and long-term development.
It does not matter how experienced someone is, or how senior their role; we all need to keep learning throughout our careers, and a good development plan can help manage that process.
360 feedback typically focuses on behavioural development, and it is important to help participants recognise that meaningful change rarely comes from courses alone. The goal is not just to acquire knowledge but to embed new behaviours through experience, reflection, and practice.
When supporting participants to develop their 360 feedback action plan, encourage them to consider development activities that genuinely enable behavioural change. The most effective plans blend multiple types of learning, drawing on Experience, Exposure, and Education.
Encourage participants to look for stretch opportunities and learning by doing, such as:
Encourage participants to gain learning through observing, connecting, and engaging with others:
Formal learning has an important place too, particularly when participants want to strengthen knowledge or frameworks that underpin behavioural change, opportunities such as:
As a coach, your role is to help participants bring structure and focus to their plan, ensuring it is realistic, meaningful, and measurable.
The following 360 feedback action planning framework provides the core components and the types of questions and considerations for each area.
| Focus Area | Participant’s Core Question | Coach Prompts and Considerations |
|---|---|---|
What (Defining objectives) |
What are my key development goals or objectives, and why am I pursuing them? |
|
How (Planning the approach) |
How will I achieve them? |
|
How (Tracking progress) |
How will I track progress and know I have been successful? |
|
When (Setting timelines) |
When is the target date for completion? |
|
These question prompts and questions help connect the action plan directly to behavioural change and the original 360 insights.
In our experience, the process of converting 360 feedback into meaningful growth comprises four stages:
Q. What is the purpose of 360 feedback action planning?
A. 360 feedback action planning helps translate insights and reflection into a tangible development framework.
Q. How can coaches support participants to develop 360 feedback action plans?
A. Coaches can guide participants to identify 3 to 4 focused development objectives, link each to a key benefit, and balance their plan using the Experience, Exposure, Education model. The goal is to help participants design activities that genuinely enable behavioural change rather than relying solely on formal learning.
Q. How can coaches support participants to develop 360 feedback action plans?
A. Coaches can guide participants to identify 3 to 4 focused development objectives, link each to a key benefit, and balance their plan using the Experience, Exposure, Education model. The goal is to help participants design activities that genuinely enable behavioural change rather than relying solely on formal learning.
