A 360-degree leadership assessment collects structured feedback from peers, direct reports, supervisors, and other stakeholders to give you a multi-perspective view of how your leadership behaviors land in practice. When designed and executed with rigor, 360 assessments create the conditions for focused development and measurable behavior change.

Senior managers often have a clear view of their strategic capabilities, yet research consistently shows that experienced leaders can develop significant blind spots about their own behaviors and impact on others. A leadership feedback assessment that gathers input from multiple perspectives offers something self-reflection alone cannot: an unfiltered view of how leadership behaviors register with the people who experience them daily.

Selecting an enterprise 360-degree leadership assessment involves more than comparing feature lists. For HR and talent development leaders responsible for leadership development and talent planning, the right assessment can shape how your organization identifies leadership strengths, addresses development needs, and builds bench strength for the future.

360-degree feedback is a powerful tool. It provides perspective to participants regarding how others see their effectiveness in the work setting. It can enhance a person’s self-insight. It can also enhance motivation to change, grow, and develop.

What is a custom leadership framework? And how can it benefit a company that chooses to customize their 360 assessment? We had a Q&A sessions with our President, Terri Baumgardner Ph.D., to learn more about custom 360 frameworks, how they are different from standard 360s, and how they can impact employees and company culture.

We posted an article recently titled “Use of Artificial Intelligence for Assessments,” which you can reference here. It discusses the guidelines and ethical considerations for the use of assessments for selection or development. The current article expands on this and highlights the legal considerations in using AI in HR assessments. This article is not meant to convey legal advice, but rather to summarize information that HR professionals should consider when using assessments that integrate AI. They should also always ensure that they are consulting with their company’s own legal function about the assessments and assessment-related processes they are using for decision-making purposes.

When multi-rater or 360-degree assessments are implemented in an organization, often the company will evaluate and compare a number of 360 assessments and assessment partners. The following is a list of criteria to consider when comparing and contrasting options for 360 assessments and assessment partners:

In our last article, titled, “Assessment Strategies and Standards: Ten Best Practices for Companies,” posted February 8, 2022, we discussed the following best practice: Ensure the validity and reliability of assessments used for employment decisions.

We noted the following about this best practice:

There are thousands of tests/assessments on the market today, and almost every test developer/publisher will say that their test is valid and reliable.

The use of assessments in companies today is a very common practice. Having assessment strategies and standards that guide companies in their assessment practices is not.

Examples of the frequent use of assessments in organizations today include: