To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915)
American writer, artist and philosopher
360°-Feedback (aka Multi-rater Feedback) is not as relevant for a normal workshop but is designed more for managers and executive staff. For the sake of completeness it is mentioned here.
Historical Development
The idea of a 360°-Feedback is simple but works effectively as it can give a rather more rounded picture of a person. It is also not new: The German Wehrmacht were holding ‘Rundgespräche’ (round talks) in the 1930s already. Everybody who is in contact with a person, i.e. his superior(s), his colleagues, and his inferiors, is asked about him/her. A manager, for example, is thus viewed from all angles. This process offers a far more lucid snapshot of an individual in comparison to other test results used for further human resource development. Interestingly, in the Wehrmacht it showed that inferiors were much better able to judge how their leader would react under fire than any other testing method.
The idea was continued in USA social psychology and soon thereafter in the business world for improvement of leaders. Soon it became also part of Assessments for recruitment, like for example in the Hogan Assessment.
Application of 360°-Feedback in Workshops
In most cases there won’t be a 360°-Feedback in workshops. Simply because participants are usually equal and they know in each other only since the begin of a workshop. Thus, the required information for a 360 is not available. Feedback-Givers of a 360 should know the about a person in different situations.
An exception might be Team building. There you have a team including colleagues, superiour, subordinate etc. For a team building it can also be useful to integrate a 360. However, it should be worked upon and debriefed properly.
Forms of 360°-Feedback
Different standardized and elaborated methods for a 360 exist. They can different objectives. Thus, it is recommended to discuss and decide jointly with you customer for which one you opt.
For example the Global Leader Assessment was elaborated a 360 leadership assessment based on research in collaboration with CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, 18 global thought leaders and 300 business executives at 200 organisations on six continents.