The 360-degree feedback culture as a decisive factor
Without feedback from our employees or customers, we don't know whether our message has been received at all and - more importantly - whether it has really been understood. Nor do we know how our leadership behaviour and we ourselves as a personality affect our audience. That is why feedback is of central importance within the framework of a transparent corporate policy: nomen est omen.
Dialogue should take the place of monologue: According to the dictionary, dialogue is alternating speech and dialogue, i.e. not a boss show, but also not noncommittal chit-chat. Actually, it is about something quite natural, which we have obviously forgotten: to deal with each other in an open and trusting way. This brings us to the feedback culture, where it is not simply a matter of offering a "different" management model or an "original" method of conversation. Rather, it is a matter of conveying a leadership philosophy that is still far too little applied in practice - precisely the feedback culture, which has it all and should, if possible, gain a foothold throughout the entire company, i.e. from the learner to the head of department and vice versa (in technical jargon, bottom-up and top-down). The time of the monologue, where the superior gives a lecture or talks to him/herself - according to the motto "one speaks and all are silent" - is fortunately largely a thing of the past and is therefore hardly regarded as a suitable form of information transfer any more. With the new feedback culture, the echo, the reverberation of the audience can also be considerably increased or strengthened. Particularly in the case of internal company change processes and unpopular decisions by the management, honestly meant and constructively critical feedback can bring more than praise of the cheap kind, which is often short-term.
From MAG to holistic team assessment
From the traditional MAG (appraisal interview) to the holistic supervisor, employee and team assessment model - in other words, to the 360-degree feedback culture - there is still a considerable way to go for this progressive "all-round assessment" to become established, not only on paper or on the computer, but also in the minds of the entire workforce. The graphical representation below shows that the feedback culture focuses on the "all-round assessment" of a person or a team. The entire environment is included in the assessment, i.e. it is not based exclusively on the opinion of experts and on test results. The broad spectrum of information from different perspectives - employees, team members, superiors, customers, self-assessment - provides a comprehensive picture of leadership behavior, professional competencies, performance, strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to achieve a better and more realistic assessment of the performance and development potential of employees in a wide range of management and team functions than is possible with traditional assessment methods such as the institutionalised appraisal interview (MAG) or the assessment with target agreement.
Perception of the "blind spot
Do you know it - your own blind spot? If so, you are lucky to have been made aware of where your weaknesses lie and what you can do to correct them. No more, but also no less!
Holistic feedback is the attempt to give each other feedback on how our own behaviour affects our employees and partners, without having to go into a defensive position or panic. This feedback is not only "top-bottom", but also "bottom-up", as well as from horizontal directions - from all sides; hence 360-degree feedback. In concrete terms, this can mean that your employees signal to you how your leadership behaviour affects them. So you are not being criticized in a destructive way, but you are receiving clear feedback on your performance. This has nothing to do with a "soul striptease", where your privacy is violated, but with your "blind spot" - so that you can better control your own behaviour.
The Advocatus Diaboli ...
... is a person who deliberately introduces counter-arguments into a discussion. This is not out of malicious intent, but to check the quality of a project - in this case the introduction of the 360-degree feedback model. In response to my critical question as a trade press representative, a young HR colleague replied with disarming frankness that this "exercise" had been an endurance test for everyone. The amazing thing was that the CEO of this tradition- and hierarchy-conscious company "outed" himself as the biggest proponent of this newfangled 360-degree feedback culture. While his rhetorical brilliance in presenting this exemplary model may guarantee transparency and openness, the biggest plus of 360-degree feedback is undoubtedly its broadly supported evaluation.
All in all, this company - and others have joined it in the meantime - has a transparent corporate philosophy that is being applied and lived with growing success, from the CEO to the HR manager to the supervisors and employees: Dialogue instead of monologue!
