360 Debrief Section 3: Conducting Feedback Debrief Sessions

Modified on Mon, 10 Aug at 2:19 PM

Section 3: Conducting feedback debrief sessions

Lesson three: conducting feedback debrief sessions

Part of How to debrief 360 results and drive meaningful change, a six-section guide. Back to the overview

Why feedback sessions are needed

Feedback sessions are generally run either by managers or by a third party, such as an external coach or consultant or an internal HR professional. In every case, setting the stage for the debrief session correctly matters just as much as discussing the results in the session itself. What follows are tips and insights for all phases of the debrief.

Tips for delivering feedback

First, be clear on the purpose of the 360 assessment and how feedback sessions fit into the overall process your organization designed. You may need clarification from the 360 administrator or your HR representative to make sure the message is consistent. These are best practice tips for running an effective feedback session.

1. Prepare thoroughly

Review results. Review the 360 feedback results using the steps in Section 2 and the detailed instructions in the 360 PDF Feedback Report. Section 6 of the report is especially helpful for forming themes about the feedback. Outline your discussion and anticipate reactions given the participant's scores, but be careful not to come across as too rehearsed. Prepare for a 60 to 90 minute session, which means the goal is not to cover every item score in the report, just the major themes.
Prepare participants for the meeting. Send the agenda in advance, along with a few questions that help participants reflect on their results: Did anything surprise you? What is your overall interpretation of where you have strengths and development opportunities? What do you feel is most important for your continued growth? How do you think the feedback will benefit you, your team, and the company?

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Appendix A: sample agenda

2. Set context, climate, and tone for the meeting

Build a relaxed atmosphere. Establish rapport and make the effort to put the participant at ease.
Clarify expectations. State the purpose of the meeting and clarify that the goal is development, not performance review, assuming performance evaluation and decision-making outcomes are not part of the purpose.
Discuss the participant’s role. Ask about their role, especially if you are not their manager. Cover the parts of the job that are fulfilling, areas where they have strengths, specific challenges they are facing, and goals for their job and beyond. This also helps build rapport and get the participant talking.

3. Ensure a participative meeting

Review the agenda. Make sure there is agreement on it. See Appendix A for a sample.
Generate an open discussion. This is not a lecture. The purpose is development, so make it a two-way conversation. Ask questions and give participants time to respond and talk freely about the results.
Engage in active listening. Maintain eye contact and check that you have understood by restating, summarizing, and asking questions.
Watch your tone and inflection. Along with body language, monitor your voice. Use a soft tone, make suggestions rather than demands, insert natural pauses, and avoid immediate emotional reactions.

4. Ensure balance between strengths and development needs

Do not forget about strengths. Even though the goal of 360 feedback is development and continuous improvement, spend quality time here. Discuss strengths and ways they can be used daily.

5. Do not be afraid to discuss negative feedback

Honesty is the best policy. Being straightforward and honest avoids confusion, but stay empathetic and protect people's self-esteem by focusing on job-related behaviors and expectations rather than personality.
Understand negative and positive ratings. Part of discussing feedback is understanding the reasons behind low and high ratings. Help identify those reasons with probing questions: What do you think your raters are observing? Why do you think this competency is a strength for you? Can you think of a situation that captures the rating on this behavior?
If you are the participant’s manager, explain your ratings. Be ready to offer supporting data and cite specific situations for your high and low ratings.

6. Help participants accept and own the feedback

Be prepared for various behavioral responses. People receiving feedback sometimes react in ways that limit their ability to interpret it accurately and grow from it. Below are common reactions and constructive ways to respond.

Common feedback reactions, statements, and responses.

Blaming and rationalizing

Assigning blame to others or to circumstances, and focusing effort on maintaining the status quo and protecting one's ego.

Sample participant statements

"My boss is never available and has been of little help to me in getting projects done."
"These results are not directly to do with me, it is the project team I had to work with."

Constructive coaching response

Assigning blame to others or situations and focusing effort on maintaining the status quo does little to improve anything.
Encourage participants to start by looking for areas they can definitely agree with. Ask: is there one thing you could point to that you believe is an area you could improve?

Denial

Refusing to believe the feedback will lead to anything useful, based on a lack of understanding of its importance or an underestimation of the relevance of the data. When people are in avoidance they deny or ignore the results.

Sample participant statements

"This process is a waste of time and resources."
"That is ridiculous, no one has ever given me this feedback before."

Constructive coaching response

Show empathy and encourage participants to talk through how they are feeling, since feedback can be difficult to receive.
Offer different ways of looking at things based on the participant's objections or resistance.
Share information on the importance of specific competencies to the business and how the feedback will help them achieve individual and team goals.
Remind participants that perceptions are reality. People's perceptions of their performance, whether right or wrong, are their reality and can affect career progress.
One of the things people can do to change that reality is to be open and honest in understanding the feedback. Encourage them to gain additional insight by talking with trusted peers, direct reports, and customers where appropriate.

Resistance

Resistance happens when people start to see the value of the feedback but also feel the anger, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty that comes with being pushed outside their comfort zone to analyze and act on the results. The resulting insecurity is a normal response that leads people to resist acting on the data.

Sample participant statements

"I suppose I just have to take these results on the chin."
"I do not have time to develop these competencies. I just need to focus on what I am good at."

Constructive coaching response

Show empathy and encourage participants to talk through how they are feeling, since feedback can be difficult to receive.
Offer different ways of looking at things based on the participant's objections or resistance.
Share information on the importance of specific competencies to the business and how the feedback will help them achieve individual and team goals.
Remind participants that perceptions are reality. People's perceptions of their performance, whether right or wrong, are their reality and can affect career progress.
One of the things people can do to change that reality is to be open and honest in understanding the feedback. Encourage them to gain additional insight by talking with trusted peers, direct reports, and customers where appropriate.

Focusing only on negatives

Being overly critical based on the results and believing the less than positive aspects of the feedback completely define the individual.

Sample participant statements

"I knew I was not really good in these areas and now the feedback confirms it. I am not cut out for this job."

Constructive coaching response

Communicate that career success is built on strengths, and that participants need to recognize and capitalize on the areas where they are performing well.
Remind participants to focus on positive messages in the results first, then look for development opportunities.
Remind participants the assessment is only one of many important sources of feedback, and no single assessment captures everything about a person. Encourage them to combine these results with other experiences, assessments, and opinions.
Look for trends and commonalities across all sources when thinking about development action plans.

7. Prepare for a Growth Action Planning (GAP) meeting, if a second meeting is needed

Begin the GAP process. Briefly recap the major takeaways from the feedback session, meaning what the participant thinks is important to focus on. Discuss the purpose and steps of the next phase and give guidance on drafting a GAP to be discussed in detail during the planning meeting.
Set a date. Before ending the initial feedback session, set a specific date for the GAP meeting if one is needed, so the process keeps its momentum. Be careful not to cover too much in the initial session. The action planning conversation needs as much time as the discussion of results.

Next: Section 4 covers how to help participants create their Growth Action Plans.