When an individual is given the results of a 360, there is often a focus on the negative or a desire to know who said what; in either case this leads downhill. When the 360 assessment process includes coaching, the coach works with the individual to focus on what they learn, what it means in the short and the long term, what opportunities exist, and then the coach works with the client to develop their strategy for moving forward.
Consider this example:
A C-suite executive went through a 360 assessment. The results indicated very poor communication with his direct reports. Comments indicated a general fear of the executive and that he seemed not to care about his team. The department did have a high turnover.
The executive was shocked and mad. He gave a speech to the whole department about how respectfully he spoke with everyone and that he demonstrated caring by getting the results that kept them employed.
The executive continued to steam over the report and went back through it in an effort to determine who had said what in the assessment. He began to ask odd questions or make strange statements in his effort to identify the author of comments. The morale in the entire department continued to decline.
A coach was hired. The coach asked the executive how he wanted to move forward. The coach asked the executive to identify skills he wanted and then prioritize working on each. The coach strategized with the executive around the opportunity to engage his team in helping him develop the skills he thought important.
As a result of the coaching questions and resulting shift in focus, the executive turned the circumstances around and became a respected leader
