A Publication of Lighthouse Consulting Services 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (310) 453-6556
P rofessional growth is a value that successful people are passionate about. Studies show that professional growth is a major reason people chose to stay with a company where they work. It is an important contributor to feelings of success and accomplishment in our work lives. It also leads to financial growth. How do we grow professionally? The first step is awareness of: Who we are and how we impact others Our strengths and areas for improvement What we can do to grow our management ability Through personal awareness, we know what and how to improve. We can get that awareness through clear, constructive feedback from the people we work with. That feedback can come informally from a comment at lunch, an argument in a meeting, an email of praise, a thank you note or maybe a formal performance evaluation with our superior. There is another feedback process that has proven to be very effective. It is the 360° feedback process. Why “360° Feedback?”  John, the CEO, was very frustrated.  His team was slow to act. He spent most of his time putting out fires. Everything was urgent. His direct reports lined up outside his office every hour needing his input and direction. He felt there must be a better way to manage so he could get more time to think and to be more effective. He wanted		unbiased input on his management style and ways to get more done with less effort and stress. He engaged in a CEO 360° assessment. The results surprised him. While his team had great respect and trust in him, his style was causing confusion and lack of empowerment to do their jobs. They saw him changing priorities daily. Because to John’s frequent changes,  their best strategy was to wait a day or two after receiving John’s direction to see what the next directive was. The CEO 360° feedback showed him how to get his team to act, reduce his frustration and eliminate the lines outside his door. He began to set clear priorities and direction and stick to them. The team now felt they could act instead of waiting. The lines outside his door declined and the changes John wanted in the company began to happen. Urgency and chaos moved towards managed change and orderly improvement. If we want to know how we are doing, we could ask a number of people. Our boss might see us one way, our peers another way and the people who work for us in a totally different way. Suppose you gave a presentation at your office. Afterward you asked your boss, your peers and the people who work for you, “How did I do?” You would probably get a variety of input…too much detail, not enough detail, spoke too softly, great, etc. But, if you could get unbiased, truthful input from everyone who was there and have it presented so you could see the patterns that are common to all, you would have input you could count on. Then you could adjust your style and give a better presentation the next time.  That is what “360° Feedback” is about.
Lighthouse Consulting Services  3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (310) 453-6556