Relying on the assessment of the individual and their manager leaves a lot of blind spots!

360 reviews can be a valuable addition to an organisation's performance review process.  By involving the individual, staff, peers, manager and even customers ensures you get the full picture.  The results are powerful and a great catalyst for change, much more powerful than the usual performance review process.

The beauty of 360 is that it compares your own perception with how others see your performance. Often being made aware of how others see you and marrying that with how you see yourself can provide the catalyst for change and the 'aha' moment.

The insights can reveal your strengths and weaknesses, what the priorities are and how you can address these issues. Thus taking responsibility for your own development and reducing the need for your manager to lead the process.

Recently I spent time with a testing organisation in Auckland. They've been working with individuals who have what might be called a 'fatal flaw' - an aspect that interferes with the individual's ability to be considered for promotion.  This might be into a partnership role or into a more senior management role.  Some of these 'fatal flaws' were not being assertive enough, being seen as too competitive and self serving, being too narrow focused and not contributing more broadly across the organisation.

Using a combination of personality profiling and a 360 review, the areas of concern were clearly identified.  This is a great starting point for change.  From there, specific development programmes were created for each individual with regular feedback and coaching provided through their organisations.

And the good news, these flaws were significantly reduced!