A key part of using 360 Degree Feedback in developing leaders is to identify weaknesses that need to be addressed.
But it's also important to identify leadership strengths that, if improved upon, could significantly increase someone's overall leadership capability. But how do you improve on a strength?
A recent article from HBR describes the results of extensive research into this area. The findings suggest that while it's important for leaders to work on the areas of weakness that are holding them back, it's building on their strengths that can produce the biggest overall improvement in leadership capability.
It's the leadership equivalent of athletes' Cross-training, and here's how it works:
Putting the equivalent of athletes' cross-training in place for leaders can significantly achieve better results. For example an experienced marathon runner will do other activities such as weight training, endurance training and yoga to give them the edge over their competitors. The key steps are:
- Run the formal or informal 360 Degree Feedback.
- If there are any serious weaknesses (the article calls them 'fatal flaws') these need to be addressed first.
- Next identify strengths, and choose a strength to focus on. This can be done through identifying the area that both energises the individual, and is critical for the organisation.
- Then select a 'complementary behaviour'. The research has identified a set of 16 complementary skills that tend to be those most likely to provide an uplift in leadership skills. The 16 complementary skills fall into 5 broad categories, including Character, Personal Capability, Getting Results, Interpersonal Skills and Leading Change.
- Develop the complementary behaviour in a linear way, with a development plan.