In this article from Management Today the writer describes a common situation: someone who refuses to accept the feedback they have received from their colleagues.
I would say that this happens in every organisation that has people in it, i.e. every organisation! It's less about conflict and more that there is always a small percentage who do not accept feedback, either because of their own insecurity, their lack of trust in the feedback methodology, or lack of trust in their organisation.
1. People need to thoroughly understand how the 360 Degree Feedback is gathered and how the resulting scores are calculated. This is especially important for analytically-minded people who will tend to believe it more if they can understand the numbers! Guaranteeing confidentiality is also important.
2. Each individual getting 360 degree feedback also needs to make a choice as to what in the feedback is important and relevant to them, and why, so help from their coach or mentor is important.
3. Acceptance comes only after shock, denial, then questioning and understanding, very much like the response cycle to bad news or events. You need to give people time to get through this cycle. (Click here to download our guide on Helping People to Deal with Difficult Feedback).
4. Finally there is the ultimate choice: if the person totally refuses to listen to feedback and agree to change ('that's just the way I am'), as an organisation, are you willing to continue to support and promote that person, and put them in charge of other people, despite their abrasive behaviour? That's where organisations usually have the greatest difficulty, particularly if someone is a good revenue earner...