360-Degree Feedback

360-degree feedback, also called multisource feedback, gathers ratings of a focal person's work behavior from the full circle of people around them, self, supervisor, peers, and direct reports, and sometimes customers, rather than from a single boss. The aim is to give a more complete, less biased picture of performance and, especially, to prompt self-awareness and development by revealing how different observers see the same person. Manuel London and James Smither's 1995 article gave the practice a theoretical foundation, explaining when and why multisource feedback might change self-evaluations, goals, and behavior. Richard Lepsinger and Anntoinette Lucia's 1997 practitioner book laid out how to design and implement sound 360 systems. Conway and Huffcutt's 1997 meta-analysis documented the psychometric reality that different sources agree only modestly, which is precisely what makes multiple perspectives informative. 360-degree feedback became one of the most widely adopted leadership-development tools in organizations.