360 degree feedback programs are generally aimed at getting the manager, the person at the centre of the storm, to improve. But what about the team, the staff, the peer group that gave the feedback – shouldn’t they be part of the solution? Peter Farey, inventor of Upward Feedback® and Senior HR Development Manager with British Airways during its dramatic transition of the 1980s, saw it initially as a means to develop managers. Later, as he began to work with managers and their teams together, he observed the powerful impact the process had on everyone involved. In more recent years, the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach has been used to leverage the impact even further.
Here are some thoughts:
· With team facilitation, 360 feedback action plans should include everything that has to change, regardless of where the responsibility lies
· Many of the team actions require them to have greater delegation and involvement. That eases the burden on the manager and gets work done more efficiently – and actually reduces stress for the staff
· Even when the team has most to do, the manager can still find much to learn. Managers who delegate more may have some learning to do around that. Hence the critical importance of linking the feedback to a learning program for all, and of monitoring the results
· Finally: what is your best chance of changing culture – by focusing on changing individual managers, or by reaching everyone in a process of involvement, self-management and learning? Labels: 360 feedback, Appreciative Inquiry, team facilitation |
