Have you ever heard of a 360 evaluation? It is a tool that leading edge companies use to assess employee performance. The tool looks at the entire circle of people around you and allows them to assess your performance. It covers your superiors, but also covers the people that report to you, and even your end customer. The tool is a valuable way to begin thinking about the circle of influence of your position. It should be just as important to you to have fabulous feedback from the people that you deliver services to rather than the conventional model of just being concerned about the reaction of your superiors.
If you can mold your perspective to consider the 360 concept even if your company doesn’t use it, it will help you to stand out and move forward in your career development. Often what holds us back are the components that we don’t see. This opens up the window and removes our blinders, allowing us to ‘see into’ our position from all angles. Develop your own feedback form and ask a few of your direct reports and your customers for input on your performance. Take what they say to heart. Develop a continuous improvement thinking process and prepare plans for your improvement.
Think of the amazing difference that this would make in a 6 month time frame. You will slowly become more aware of your impact overall, from all angles. As you take the feedback to heart, you will grow and change as an individual. As you learn to seek out improvement ideas, you will move up the chain of command.
Bethany Williams is an expert in business development and healthcare operations. She has held high level positions at IDX Systems Corporation, GE Healthcare, Perot Systems Corporation, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Williams shares her stories and helpful tips on career success through her book, Winning Strategies for Women, and a popular motivational blog. She volunteers as a life coach and mentor for employees around the globe through her website and personal one-to-one visits. She currently works as an executive at a big four accounting firm and lives in Dallas with her husband, Michael, and her three children. You can find her on the web at www.bethanywilliams.org.
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