Dennis C Carey: How accurate is the much beloved 360?
Accurate appraisal of talent is a critical ingredient of business success. One popular measurement tool is the 360 evaluation where managers, peers and direct reports offer their confidential opinion of a leader's competencies, strengths and weaknesses. The 360 has become gold standard in employee evaluation.
But how honest is a 360?
My co-author and Wharton professor, Dr. Michael Useem and I will look at the 360 in an upcoming article in the Harvard Business Review. Having done thousands of appraisals in my career as an executive recruiter, the most interesting result of the research for me was how predictably biased 360 evaluations are. Because it's so easy to know the source of the negative feedback, it's safer to be politically correct to soften a judgment, to be nice.
Think of the reaction our article will receive from organizations that have based promotions on 360 evaluations. Now, be nice.