best 360 leadership assessment tools

What is the best 360 leadership assessment tool?

To help you discover the best 360 leadership assessment tools, we asked HR professionals and business leaders this question for their best insights. From the Ennegram tool to a professional coach, there are several leadership assessment tools that may help you improve the evaluation and feedback given to leaders in your organization.

Here are the five best leadership assessment tools:

  • Enneagram
  • Leadership Circle Profile
  • Hi5
  • Speak With The Leader’s Stakeholders
  • Work With a Coach Post-Assessment

Enneagram 

Most 360 leadership assessment tools have the same drawback that people often experience in relation to analyzing behavior, which is they look at the actions and not the motivation behind them, and it is this weakness that Enneagram addresses. Although over 80% of fortune 500 companies use 360 leadership feedback, many miss the mark because they focus solely on surface behaviors rather than underlying reasons.

Enneagram attempts to address these shortcomings by looking at 9 categories of behavior types, and then create subtypes to analyze motivations that lead to certain behaviors. In doing so, it eliminates a one size fits all approach, and can more accurately identify issues and deal with them effectively. By categorizing possible underlying causes, Enneagram is an effective way to get to the root of a problem to foster a successful leadership style, rather than just creating a temporary solution.

Yuvi Alpert, Noémie

Ennegram is a unique leadership tool that envisions the motivations leading to actions/reactions. The tool categorizes people’s traits and behaviors into 9 types with 9 subtypes for each section. Enneagram assessments thoroughly investigate the motive of each action of an individual, leading to unpredictable results. This process differs from many other leadership assessments that factor a person’s behavior and then check if they are ideal leaders. The tool is complex but offers the best insight about a person much deeper than what he/she appears to be.

Datha Santomieri, Steadily

Leadership Circle Profile

One option is the Leadership Circle Profile, which is a 360-degree assessment tool that measures a leader’s emotional intelligence (EI), team dynamics, and strategic thinking.

The Leadership Circle Profile was created based on over 25 years of research into leadership effectiveness and uses self-report questionnaires, peer feedback, and supervisor ratings to provide a comprehensive view of a leader’s strengths and areas for development.

Natalia Brzezinska, PhotoAiD

Hi5 

One of the best 360 leadership tools is Hi5 which helps organizations exchange feedback and recognition in real-time using the web, desktop, and mobile-friendly apps. Hi5 makes it easy for businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to manage their workforce through 24/7 live support and integrations with Microsoft Teams, Slack, and WhatsApp. The cloud platform is easy to set up and simple to use, enabling teams to quickly reach their desired objects via continuous recognition and feedback to each other.

Ryan Yount, Luckluckgo

Speak With The Leader’s Stakeholders

The best 360 leadership assessment tool is to speak one-on-one with others who work with the person (peers, stakeholders, subordinates, etc.). How do they lead, influence, and motivate their direct reports and employees on other teams that don’t report to them. Real-time feedback is better than any online survey.

Scott Baker, Stage 3 Leadership

Work With a Coach Post-Assessment  

When a 360 is done, it is more likely to have a negative impact if not handled correctly.  That means it is important to ensure that the report is given to the leader by a trained assessor or coach and that follow-up coaching is part of the process.

Without a coach there is a tendency to focus on who said what and has the potential for generating resentment.  The report may undermine confidence or create a sense of defiance.

With a coach, the leader will be asked what they are learning and how they will apply their insights. The coach will work with them on how to enhance their leadership style.  The assessment becomes a benefit and value add because with a coach the leader will focus on upgrading their skills.

Cathy Liska, Center for Coaching Certification

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