Have you ever wondered how you could gain deeper, clearer insights into your leaders’ strengths, weaknesses, and potential blind spots? Hiring or promoting the right leader is crucial, but traditional methods—like interviews or one-dimensional reviews—often fall short in painting a complete picture.
That’s where a 360 leadership assessment template comes in.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll explain exactly what a 360 leadership assessment template is, why it’s incredibly valuable, and how you can effectively use it to clearly and objectively evaluate your current and potential leaders.
Let’s dive in!
What Exactly is a 360 Leadership Assessment Template?
First, let’s clarify what we’re talking about:
A 360 leadership assessment template is a structured evaluation tool designed to gather detailed feedback about a leader’s performance, competencies, and behaviors from multiple perspectives—such as peers, direct reports, supervisors, and even the leader themselves.
Why is it called “360”? Because it clearly gathers insights from every direction, providing a complete, well-rounded view of a leader’s strengths and areas needing improvement.
For more context, explore our guide on leadership competencies for hiring.
Why Should You Use a 360 Leadership Assessment?
You might wonder, “Why go through the extra effort of using a 360 assessment?”
Here’s exactly why it matters:
- Comprehensive Insight: Provides clear, balanced feedback from multiple perspectives—not just from the top down.
- Objective Evaluation: Reduces bias and subjectivity, resulting in fairer, more accurate evaluations.
- Improved Self-awareness: Helps leaders clearly recognize strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots.
- Targeted Development: Identifies specific areas for growth and development clearly and objectively.
- Better Leadership Decisions: Informs smarter hiring, promotion, and succession planning decisions.
What Should a Good 360 Leadership Assessment Template Include?
A solid 360 leadership assessment template clearly evaluates essential leadership competencies. Here are the key areas you should definitely include:
- Communication
- Decision-making & Problem-solving
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
- Team Management
- Strategic Thinking
- Inclusivity and Diversity
- Adaptability and Resilience
- Motivation and Inspiration
- Integrity and Trustworthiness
Example Template Structure:
Here’s a practical example of what your 360 leadership assessment template could look like:
| Leadership Competency | Self-Assessment | Supervisor Rating | Peer Rating | Direct Report Rating | Average Score |
| Communication | |||||
| Emotional Intelligence | |||||
| Strategic Thinking | |||||
| Inclusivity & Diversity | |||||
| Decision-making & Problem-solving | |||||
| Team Management |
Clearly calculating the average scores gives you an immediate snapshot of strengths and improvement areas.
How to Use a 360 Leadership Assessment Template Effectively (Step-by-Step)
Let’s make this practical. Here’s exactly how you can implement your 360 leadership assessment effectively:
Step 1: Clearly Define Your Assessment Goals
Clearly outline exactly what you’re hoping to achieve through this assessment. Are you assessing potential hires, existing leaders for promotions, or identifying development areas?
Step 2: Select Participants Wisely
Carefully choose participants who regularly interact with or observe the leader, including supervisors, direct reports, peers, and the leader themselves.
Step 3: Use a Structured Questionnaire
Develop structured questions aligned clearly with leadership competencies. For inspiration, see our leadership potential assessment questions or inclusive leadership questions.
Example questions might include:
- “How effectively does this leader communicate the vision and expectations?”
- “How well does this leader manage conflict or difficult conversations?”
- “Does this leader actively encourage diverse viewpoints?”
Step 4: Administer the Assessment Confidentially
Clearly communicate confidentiality to all participants to encourage honest, unbiased feedback.
Step 5: Compile and Clearly Analyze Results
Summarize feedback clearly, highlighting trends, strengths, and improvement areas. Use the template above to easily visualize results.
Step 6: Provide Clear Feedback and Coaching
Present the results clearly and constructively, offering leaders targeted coaching to help them address specific areas identified in the assessment.
Benefits and Potential Challenges of Using a 360 Leadership Assessment
Here’s a clear summary of benefits and challenges:
| Benefits | Challenges |
| Comprehensive, multi-perspective feedback | Can be time-consuming initially |
| Objective and unbiased evaluation | Potential discomfort or defensiveness from leaders |
| Identifies clear growth opportunities | Requires careful interpretation of results |
| Enhances leadership effectiveness | Needs structured and confidential administration |
Address these challenges clearly by setting clear expectations, ensuring confidentiality, and providing supportive feedback.
Incorporating DISC Leadership Styles in Your 360 Assessment
One excellent way to enhance your 360 assessments is by including a DISC leadership model or exploring DISC leadership styles.
This helps clearly reveal leaders’ inherent behavior tendencies, communication preferences, and areas where they may need adjustments to improve their leadership effectiveness.
Quick Tips for an Effective 360 Leadership Assessment
To get the most out of your assessments, follow these quick tips:
- ✅ Clearly define assessment objectives upfront.
- ✅ Select diverse and relevant feedback providers.
- ✅ Ensure complete confidentiality to encourage honesty.
- ✅ Follow up with actionable feedback and targeted coaching.
- ✅ Repeat assessments periodically to track improvement over time.
Practical Example of 360 Assessment Results
Here’s a practical, visual example summarizing results clearly for quick insights:
| Competency | Supervisor | Peers | Direct Reports | Self | Avg. Score |
| Communication | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Emotional Intelligence | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4.25 |
| Strategic Thinking | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.25 |
| Inclusivity & Diversity | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Decision-making | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4.75 |
This leader clearly excels in decision-making but could still improve emotional intelligence and strategic thinking with targeted coaching.
Final Thoughts: Unlock Powerful Leadership Insights with 360 Assessments
Clearly, a well-structured 360 leadership assessment template offers invaluable insights, improving your hiring decisions, leadership effectiveness, and organizational success. It’s one of the best ways to gain comprehensive, objective evaluations of your leaders.
Ready to transform your leadership evaluation process immediately? Start by exploring our detailed guide on leadership competencies for hiring and begin building stronger, more effective leadership teams today.