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Donald Rumsfeld defended George Bush policies, conceded no errors, and said the nation needs patience. And from day one, he alienated top military brass and powerful congressional figures with his brusque manner and confusing decision-making process.
If he were a corporate CEO, president or top executive, would he have lasted as long?
Not likely you say? Dont count on it.
A recent survey by independent polling and research firm, Rasmussen Reports LLC, found that most managers think pretty highly of their management skills. They give themselves rave reviews, but their workers beg to differ.
Fully 92 percent of those managers surveyed said they are an excellent or a good boss.
But ask their direct reports and you get a different story. Only 67 percent of employees surveyed gave their managers a favorable rating, and 10 percent said their bosses do their jobs poorly.
Since only a quarter of individuals are given the opportunity to formally review their managers performance (and 73 percent of that group say they believe their feedback is taken seriously), it may not be surprising that bosses may be clueless about what employees (and others) really think of their management skills.
Rating The Boss
For execs, full-circle job reviews on the increase.
Think 360 reviews, and gamers think Microsofts Xbox 360”the popular video game and entertainment system. (They may also be thinking Sony Playstation 3.)
But in the business world, theres another 360 review. The 360-degree leadership assessment survey. And in lots of organizations, its that time of year. This 360 is designed for people who lead, manage, direct or influence the activities of others.
Many multichannel organizations use it to gather feedback from peers, managers, direct reports, and other internal and external sources; including self-assessment, customers, suppliers and other interested stakeholders. Its executive development feedback, and it comes from all around”outlining the performance, strength and weaknesses of a leader or manager.
Participants receive feedback on a comprehensive list of leadership and management competencies. Feedback on hard to measure soft skills, setting priorities, suggested skill building exercises, individual development plans, and quantifying progress.
Managers gain a new perspective on their areas of strength, opportunities for development and blind spots. And if some (or most) of the feedback is negative, unexpected, or unwanted”itll be hard to dismiss when it comes from so many sources.
What you get is not only information necessary to assess those leadership and management skills”linking performance measures with organizational standards”but also what action you may need to take for those bosses behaving badly.
When conducting 360-degree feedback on any employee, its a good idea to involve a "neutral" third party in the process. This can provide better objectivity and confidentiality. Often these third parties will also have sophisticated survey delivery and analysis tools that can often be hard to find internally in most organizations.
One such company is Profiles International, Inc. of Waco, Texas http://www.profilesinternational.com/ an employment evaluation and human resource management assessment firm. (Wonderlic is another.) They offer a comprehensive, three-part 360-degree feedback program for professional development that focuses on 8 major skill sets and 18 universal competencies:
Communications
Listens to others, processes information, communicates
effectively
Leadership
Instills trust, provides direction, delegates responsibility
Relationships
Builds personal relationships, facilitates team success
Adaptability
Adjusts to consequences, thinks creatively
Task Management
Works effectively, works competently
Production
Takes action, achieves results
Self-development
Displays commitment, seeks improvement
Development of Others
Cultivates individual talents, motivates successfully
Putting it in context, a recent Harvard Business School study suggested, that in one organization they worked with, many employees recommended that (a)"openness to input from below" should become a key component of each leader's 360-degree performance evaluation; and (b)a cut-off score be set for this component, and that those below the threshold could not be promoted.
This would have been a fairly radical change for this particular company, where technical excellence was seen as the primary basis for promotion. Although senior management did not act on this suggestion, which would have been very difficult in their well-established culture, it points in the right direction.
The study states: It's worth remembering that this is not about being ˜nice or creating a ˜nice workplace. In fact, those organizations where voice is more natural and welcome can be pretty tough places, in the sense that people are direct! Not all news is good news! But people also have learned to expect the good and the bad, and know how to process it.
You might be thinking at this point, given how difficult it is and given that it's not necessarily going to be fun, why bother? Their response is that no news is not good news, from the point of view of senior management, or even bosses all the way down.
Managers need to hear from the people in the organization who are closest to the work, closest to the customers”those who are in the best position to recognize problems and have new ideas.
While 360s may not solve all management shortcomings or be a productivity panacea, they do focus attention on leadership, style, and implementation problems. Whats more, they may also help you confront a certain degree of institutional dishonesty along with unrealistic expectations.
If he were a corporate CEO, president or top executive, would he have lasted as long?
Not likely you say? Dont count on it.
A recent survey by independent polling and research firm, Rasmussen Reports LLC, found that most managers think pretty highly of their management skills. They give themselves rave reviews, but their workers beg to differ.
Fully 92 percent of those managers surveyed said they are an excellent or a good boss.
But ask their direct reports and you get a different story. Only 67 percent of employees surveyed gave their managers a favorable rating, and 10 percent said their bosses do their jobs poorly.
Since only a quarter of individuals are given the opportunity to formally review their managers performance (and 73 percent of that group say they believe their feedback is taken seriously), it may not be surprising that bosses may be clueless about what employees (and others) really think of their management skills.
Rating The Boss
For execs, full-circle job reviews on the increase.
Think 360 reviews, and gamers think Microsofts Xbox 360”the popular video game and entertainment system. (They may also be thinking Sony Playstation 3.)
But in the business world, theres another 360 review. The 360-degree leadership assessment survey. And in lots of organizations, its that time of year. This 360 is designed for people who lead, manage, direct or influence the activities of others.
Many multichannel organizations use it to gather feedback from peers, managers, direct reports, and other internal and external sources; including self-assessment, customers, suppliers and other interested stakeholders. Its executive development feedback, and it comes from all around”outlining the performance, strength and weaknesses of a leader or manager.
Participants receive feedback on a comprehensive list of leadership and management competencies. Feedback on hard to measure soft skills, setting priorities, suggested skill building exercises, individual development plans, and quantifying progress.
Managers gain a new perspective on their areas of strength, opportunities for development and blind spots. And if some (or most) of the feedback is negative, unexpected, or unwanted”itll be hard to dismiss when it comes from so many sources.
What you get is not only information necessary to assess those leadership and management skills”linking performance measures with organizational standards”but also what action you may need to take for those bosses behaving badly.
When conducting 360-degree feedback on any employee, its a good idea to involve a "neutral" third party in the process. This can provide better objectivity and confidentiality. Often these third parties will also have sophisticated survey delivery and analysis tools that can often be hard to find internally in most organizations.
One such company is Profiles International, Inc. of Waco, Texas http://www.profilesinternational.com/ an employment evaluation and human resource management assessment firm. (Wonderlic is another.) They offer a comprehensive, three-part 360-degree feedback program for professional development that focuses on 8 major skill sets and 18 universal competencies:
Communications
Listens to others, processes information, communicates
effectively
Leadership
Instills trust, provides direction, delegates responsibility
Relationships
Builds personal relationships, facilitates team success
Adaptability
Adjusts to consequences, thinks creatively
Task Management
Works effectively, works competently
Production
Takes action, achieves results
Self-development
Displays commitment, seeks improvement
Development of Others
Cultivates individual talents, motivates successfully
Putting it in context, a recent Harvard Business School study suggested, that in one organization they worked with, many employees recommended that (a)"openness to input from below" should become a key component of each leader's 360-degree performance evaluation; and (b)a cut-off score be set for this component, and that those below the threshold could not be promoted.
This would have been a fairly radical change for this particular company, where technical excellence was seen as the primary basis for promotion. Although senior management did not act on this suggestion, which would have been very difficult in their well-established culture, it points in the right direction.
The study states: It's worth remembering that this is not about being ˜nice or creating a ˜nice workplace. In fact, those organizations where voice is more natural and welcome can be pretty tough places, in the sense that people are direct! Not all news is good news! But people also have learned to expect the good and the bad, and know how to process it.
You might be thinking at this point, given how difficult it is and given that it's not necessarily going to be fun, why bother? Their response is that no news is not good news, from the point of view of senior management, or even bosses all the way down.
Managers need to hear from the people in the organization who are closest to the work, closest to the customers”those who are in the best position to recognize problems and have new ideas.
While 360s may not solve all management shortcomings or be a productivity panacea, they do focus attention on leadership, style, and implementation problems. Whats more, they may also help you confront a certain degree of institutional dishonesty along with unrealistic expectations.