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EXECUTIVE COACH: Better Leadership Through Peer Reviews

By Susan Cramm

November 01, 2006 — CIO —

Meet Mr. Average CIO. He is of average height, build and age. He is also, according to his recently completed 360-degree assessment, an average leader. Initially, Mr. Average was disappointed to hear his results. But over time, he became sanguine; after all, what’s the point of getting worked up over survey results that are confusing and don’t jibe with his strong job performance reviews?

Mr. Average’s situation is a common outcome of the 360-review process, in which an individual is evaluated by customers, peers, direct reports, his supervisor and himself. It should be no surprise that when you average the responses of 15 reviewers to 60 or so questions (each testing a different leadership competency), the mathematical process often leads to results that cluster around the norm.

To gain meaningful insights as to his specific leadership strengths and weaknesses, a CIO who has undergone a 360 review must objectively analyze hundreds of feedback points. So it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees.

Mr. Average doesn’t know it, but there’s good reason for him to be concerned about his results; since he doesn’t have any competencies rated in the top 10 percent (scores greater than 4.5 on a scale of 5), he’s in the 34th percentile of all leaders. You see, it’s not the average score that counts on a 360 review. It’s the number of competencies rated in the top 10 percent, according to The Extraordinary Leader, by John Zenger and Joseph Folkman.

The good news for Mr. Average (and all of you) is that it takes only five highly rated competencies to be considered a great leader, as long as two other conditions are met. First, the competencies need to be distributed evenly across five leadership sectors, defined by Zenger and Folkman as personal capability, character, interpersonal skills, ability to focus on results, and willingness to lead change. Second, Mr. Average cannot have any fatal flaws, which are defined as an inability to learn from mistakes, a lack of core interpersonal skills, openness to new or different ideas, accountability and initiative.

A handful of extraordinary strengths separates great from average leaders. And great leaders outperform average ones on productivity, turnover, customer service and employee commitment. By building on his strengths and eliminating fatal flaws, the average leader can become extraordinary. Armed with this knowledge, Mr. Average can pluck meaningful insights from the mountain of 360-degree data. With relatively simple analysis, the feedback can be understood—and practical, focused development plans can result.

 

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