In the high-stakes realm of politics, there is an ever-present need for politicians to aspire to continual self-improvement and professional development. A highly rated instrumental tool that can facilitate this growth is The PROFILOR® 360 feedback assessment. This multifaceted feedback mechanism can provide politicians with crucial insights from diverse perspectives, thereby enabling a comprehensive understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for enhancement.

A version of this article was first posted on LinkedIn in December of 2015  

The next presidential election is November 5, 2024. There are several steps between then and now. From January to June of 2024, states and parties hold presidential primaries and caucuses. From July to early September, parties hold nominating conventions to choose their presidential candidates. In September and October, candidates participate in presidential debates.  

It is well understood that 360 feedback provides an individual with the insight to build skills and add value to the organization, but what benefit can an organization derive from the broad use of 360 feedback? 

In thirty years of working in the Talent arena, I have learned a very important lesson about succeeding with and through talent. It’s a similar lesson that most executives already know about vision and business strategies. If they have a particular vision for their organization, they need to ensure that everything they do aligns to that vision. Strategic objectives should move the company closer to the vision. Structure and organizational processes should propel the vision rather than impede it. People should be selected, developed, and rewarded based upon the “fit” with that vision. It all goes back decades ago to McKinsey’s tried and true 7-S model.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) published a January-February 2023 issue titled, "What Most Companies Get Wrong About Managing Talent." A feature article in the issue by Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson called "Rethink Your Employee Value Proposition: Offer Your People More Than Just Flexibility" discussed an employee value proposition composed of four interrelated factors.  

Why should anyone be led by you?"

With the mid-term elections quickly approaching on November 8, 2022, I am reminded of a post I first published on LinkedIn in December 2015 titled “Leadership Assessments for Presidential Candidates.” I feel even more strongly now then I did then that the American people are missing a huge opportunity that would allow them to make the best decisions about whom they should elect to key political positions, including, and most importantly, the President of the United States. The opportunity is to use leadership assessments as a means for providing very important information about any political candidate and improve the public’s ability to predict who will be most successful in the roles for which they are running.

For decades now, I have conducted 360 feedback and coaching discussions with leaders at all levels, representing numerous companies, industries, and regions of the world. For the majority of these feedback/coaching discussions, I have worked with The PROFILOR® 360 assessment. I have also trained many HR teams in conducting feedback/coaching sessions, both in one-on-one and group format, using The PROFILOR®. In conducting these HR workshops, I have discovered that many teams have the same questions and concerns about conducting one-on-one feedback sessions. In this article, I will share more about the way a conversation should happen to facilitate the most productive and impactful feedback/coaching session. Future articles will provide additional information on conducting high-impact feedback/coaching sessions.

This job aid is designed specifically to help leaders and employees have strong and productive development discussions. It is meant to provide advice and guidance once the employee has completed The PROFILOR® feedback process, for three phases related to development discussions: preparing for the discussion, having the meeting, and following-up after the meeting. The following sections are organized according to these phases.