Research Paper: Does 360 Feedback Improve Leader Performance - Or Impede It?

Jack McCann · Betsy Sparks · Thom Kohntopp · Employee Experience Magazine · 2024 ·

This study examined how managers perceive 360 feedback as a tool for improving:

• Organisational performance
• Individual performance
• Relationships between the participant and their direct reports

The researchers conducted a quantitative field survey of managers working in United States manufacturing organisations, with 181 complete responses. The results are striking because managers saw 360 feedback as both helpful and potentially impeding. Whilst many believed 360 feedback improved leader performance, a slightly larger majority also believed it could impede it.

Key takeaways

• Leader performance can improve: 67.40% of managers agreed or strongly agreed that 360 feedback enhanced their leadership performance.
• But performance can also be impeded: At the same time, 70.71% agreed or strongly agreed that the activity impeded their leadership performance. The researchers describe this as a somewhat contradictory finding, suggesting that the way 360 information is used can affect how managers experience the process.
• Organisational impact is mixed: 69.06% believed 360 feedback improved organisational performance, while 72.93% believed it impeded organisational performance. The paper suggests that leadership style and company expectations for managers could produce these contradictory perceptions.
• Relationships show the same pattern: 66.29% of participants felt 360 feedback improved relationships with their direct reports, but 73.48% also felt it impeded those relationships. The paper links this to the feedback managers receive about the current state of their relationships with direct reports.
• Organisational alignment is important: The 360 feedback question set should reflect the competencies and skills that are relevant to the organisation and the participant's leadership level. The paper also stresses that respondents need sufficient exposure to the people they are assessing for the results to be valid.
• Feedback coaching matters: Simply giving someone their feedback report can generate questions and confusion. The paper recommends that initial feedback is delivered by a trained facilitator and that broader themes should be considered rather than focusing too heavily on a few low ratings.
• Follow-through is important: The paper highlights approaches involving context and guidance, developmental recommendations, a personal development plan and follow-up to support accountability. It reports that these steps tend to result in greater self-awareness and increase the likelihood of change or improvement.

What This Means for Your 360 Process

The research shows that when 360 feedback isn’t implemented well it can just as easily impede leadership development and performance. What determines which way it goes is how the process is run. Four areas make the biggest difference:

• Match the question set to the organisation's own framework and the participant's operating level: The 360 questionnaire needs to reflect the organisation's existing behavioural framework, values, leadership competencies etc, and be calibrated to the participant's leadership level. See our article - 360 Feedback Questionnaire Design – Best Practice Guide
• Respondent selection is important: Respondents need to know the participant well and have had the opportunity to observe the behaviours within the questionnaire. Take the time to brief participants on how to choose the right respondent. For some great guidance on this, see our article How to Choose 360 Feedback Respondents
• Support people to make the most of their feedback reports: Participants frequently struggle to work through their report unaided and turn it into a meaningful, forward-facing set of development actions. Lumus360 offer a 360 feedback coaching package specifically designed for this
• Follow-through determines whether anything actually changes: The paper links structured follow-up - context and guidance, developmental recommendations, a personal development plan and accountability check-ins - directly to greater self-awareness and a higher likelihood of real behaviour change. For some great advice on this, see our article - 360 Feedback Follow-Through: How to Turn Insights Into Lasting Behaviour Change