Why 360-Degree Feedback Fails (And How to Make It Work)

"Many organizations invest in 360 assessments, only to see little change. Why?"

Top Reason#1 : The Promise vs. Reality of 360o Feedback

Our research on Follow-Through showed significant drop (55%+) on action plan after the feedback. Thus the Reality is far below the Promise on leadership development plan,  both for individual level and collectively as a group. Even worst than the above: No action plan : When Feedback is collected, then ignored

How to Make It Work :

1. Embed Feedback process into process that is always ‘monitored’ or design process that have effective performance measures and check-in regularly.

2. Focus on 1-2 growth areas – Avoid "fix everything" paralysis and Overwhelming that make Leaders don’t know where to start .   Select key areas that align with performance goals or strategic priorities for the year so that the leader has opportunities to improve as well as enhance their performance as a leader for the organization.

Top Reason#2 :  Fear-driven culture 

Employees don’t give honest input because they are uncertain of the consequences.   This could lead to bias and inaccurate feedback.

How to Make It Work

1. ✅ Psychological safety first – Train teams on giving/receiving feedback.   Ensure communications before/after are done properly for both Leaders and Feedback Providers.

2. ✅ Pair feedback with coaching – Help leaders interpret and act on insights.   Ensure the coaching is provided to empathize the data and pivot on opportunities for development, instead of emotional feeling to find out ‘who said what’ and denial mode.