A common question I ask during executive assessments is “Tell me about a recent time that you have received challenging feedback.” Often, this is a chin scratcher for top performers! I often hear “well, I wish I got more feedback,” or maybe an example from 20 years ago. Sometimes, the challenging feedback is just a normal debate or conversation. Many of these leaders want and crave feedback. Others try to do well to avoid getting negative feedback. Regardless, it is a missed opportunity to help great employees become even better.
A well-rounded and established 360 program (like the 4R Leaders Platform) can provide an additional benefit to high performers to receive the meaningful and helpful feedback they crave. Below are a few ways that a 360 can help your best people become even better!
Establish a culture of feedback for even high performers
Leaders can be reluctant to provide feedback to high performers for a number of reasons. Perhaps they truly cannot identify any gaps. Or, they could be reluctant to upset a high performer and create defensiveness. Even still, the culture may not be one of feedback. A well-implemented 360 system, over time, can change that. We often see, when we initially implement a 360, that there is initial “grade inflation,” while raters decide whether they can trust the confidentiality and worry about how feedback is received. Over the time of implementation, we tend to see scores going down. This is actually a good thing—it means that raters become more comfortable providing honest feedback. In our coaching sessions, we also see fewer surprises—new feedback that has never emerged and creates defensiveness. Again, this is a benefit to leaders across the organization; feedback should be reinforcing, consistent, and realistic.
There’s always something to build on
Anecdotally, in my coaching conversations, something new is revealed from the data, something that a top performer might have wished to have heard for years. It’s not uncommon to hear “I wish someone would have told me that” or “I didn’t realize…” When leaders are inviting 15 or 20 raters that they know from various aspects of their work, it is quite likely that someone has a new or a unique angle. High performers, being focused on achievement, will likely go about creating an action plan to fill that gap and continue to grow.
High performers want development
In a recent study that we did in a high performing Fortune 500 company, two retention and engagement factors were consistent. Employees wanted both advancement and development. The latter need often goes unmet, as high performers themselves can feel guilty taking the time to develop or focus overmuch on achieving work goals, assuming that development will follow. The simple act of doing a 360 tends to engage, motivate, and energize a subset of employees who are hungry for development, particularly when they have access to competency-building resources, ongoing support, and reassessment.
Your high-performers today might be tomorrow’s C-Suite. How can your team leverage 360s to build organizational bench strength? Click here to read about Using 360s to Build Bench Strength.
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