In the past few years, management development has increasingly involved 360-degree feedback--an experience in which a person receives ratings of performance from peers, superiors, and subordinates; compares these with self-ratings; and perhaps gets limited coaching and sets goals for improvement. It is generally considered an effective development technique for all levels of management. Senior executives, however, because of the breadth of challenges they face, sometimes require a richer feedback experience--one which might also include one or more of the following: detailed verbatim descriptions of performance, observations from family members and friends, psychometric measures of personality and motivation, and data on early history, plus an extended coaching relationship with a professional in leadership development. With this added scope and power, however, comes increased risk, which makes it essential that additional precautions be taken. In this report, the authors offer guidelines for how enhanced feedback can be provided safely and effectively.
