There was a time in history during which how someone was perceived by their coworkers and direct reports was an insignificant factor in identifying high potentials and determining whom would get ahead. Fast-forward several decades, and the exact opposite became true. People became an organization’s biggest asset, and the currency became how people were treated. The former was an output-driven era, and the latter, a people-centered era.
Today, however, the most successful leaders and organizations understand that work is not completed by people, but rather through relationships.
And this is why 360 degree feedback assessments have been and will continue to be one of the most effective and indispensable leadership and development tools available.
A tool that does what it says it does and does it consistently well, 360s have been around for several decades, growing in popularity over the years. However, they’re often misused, being incorporated into succession planning, promotion readiness, and performance evaluations. This misuse has contributed to distaste, even fear, among those who receive them. But when used correctly for development purposes, the doors open to unlimited opportunity for personal and professional growth, and more importantly, enriched relationships.
Here are 3 things 360s can do to improve your relationships:
1. Relationship with self. Your self-awareness is one of the most important aspects of your development. Ultimately what you know, and don’t know about yourself contributes to, and even determines, your capacity for success. The more you know yourself, the better you are able to know others.
2. Relationship with others. Once you know yourself, you are more capable of understanding how your behavior, personality, and isms affect others. Your success is directly impacted by how others perceive you, which makes your relationships a significant contributor to your career success. Knowing others means understanding where they come from, what motivates them, what their preferences are, and how they like to be managed. These things are not learned by asking them, but rather through having a relationship with them.
3. Relationship with your career. Self-awareness is as much about knowing whom you are as it is what motivates you, what excites you, and what satisfies you. Knowing these things about yourself and understanding your interactions and relationships with others are the keys to a successful career, and even lay the foundation for success outside of one’s career.
The bottom line is by knowing yourself and others, you are better able to manage your goals, serve others, and accomplish things you never thought you could – because you didn’t do it alone. You did it through relationships.