What is 360 degree feedback?

360 degree feedback is a way of rating a leader's behaviour from every angle: their own self-assessment, plus input from their manager, their peers and the people who report to them. Instead of one opinion (usually a manager's, once a year), you get a rounded picture built from everyone who actually sees how that person leads day to day.

The name comes from the idea of a full circle of views: up, down and sideways. It's most useful for behaviours that are hard to judge from a single vantage point, things like how someone communicates under pressure, whether they actually delegate, or how well they listen.

Who takes part

A typical 360 involves the person being assessed, their direct manager, a handful of peers (colleagues at a similar level who work with them regularly) and, where relevant, their direct reports. Some processes also invite other stakeholders, such as a client or a cross-functional partner, if that relationship matters to the role.

Individual responses are grouped by relationship (manager, peer, report) and never attributed to one person, which is what makes honest feedback possible in the first place.

How the process works

Most 360s follow the same basic shape. The subject rates themselves against a set of behaviours. They then invite their manager, peers and reports, who answer the same questions about them, anonymously. Once enough responses are in, the results are combined into a report that shows the subject's self-view alongside how others rated them, so any gaps are easy to spot.

What good 360 feedback measures

The best 360s don't just ask whether someone is good at their job. They break leadership down into specific, observable behaviours (setting direction, giving feedback, staying calm under pressure) and rate each one on how effective it is and how consistently it shows up. That combination matters: someone might be excellent at giving feedback occasionally, but if it's rare, the impact is limited.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Making it anonymous in name only. With only one or two peers, people can often guess who said what, and the honesty disappears.
  • Running it once and filing the report away. A 360 is only useful if it leads to a handful of concrete actions, not a document nobody looks at again.
  • Asking vague questions like "rate this person's leadership." Specific behaviours produce specific, actionable feedback; broad questions produce broad, unusable answers.

Try it for yourself

The Loop is our free 360 degree feedback tool. You rate yourself across 38 research-backed leadership behaviours, invite the people around you to do the same anonymously, and get a report that shows your strengths, your blind spots and exactly where to focus next.