360 Degree Feedback Enhances Executive Education
Written by Jim Steele, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Management George Fox University 
Feedback is a gift. That is an important lesson I want each of my graduate students to take to heart. To that end, each learner in the Executive Track MBA at George Fox University is provided the opportunity to use a Clark Wilson 360 degree feedback survey from Booth Co.The George Fox Executive Track MBA (mba.georgefox.edu) attracts sophisticated mid-career adults looking for a learning experience that is both academically challenging and relevant to their professional lives. As leaders and executives in a variety of organizations ranging from technology to healthcare to not-for-profit agencies, their learning needs are often driven by the unique characteristics of the working environment.
Clark Wilson 360 degree feedback surveys have been an integral component of the "Organizational Systems and Change" course in the Executive Track MBA since 2006. These surveys support a key learning objective, "Articulate how your own values, preferences and management style influence your view of organizations." By providing executive learners with a firsthand view of how each is perceived in his or her work environment, they are confronted with evidence of the impact of their own leadership behaviors.
At the beginning of the course, each learner selects the survey that offers the best fit for his or her professional needs. A variety of surveys are offered, including:
- Executive Leadership Survey
- Survey of Leadership Practices
- Leadership in Health Services Survey
- Leadership Competencies for Managers Survey
Learners appreciate the flexibility to choose a survey relevant to their specific needs. From a teaching and facilitation perspective, the common design of the surveys makes it possible to provide a single overview to the survey process, task cycle and reports even though multiple surveys are in use. Individual coaching sessions after survey results are distributed provide ample opportunity to explore the unique elements of the specialized survey results.
Action plans are completed after each student has digested the results of the feedback survey. Thoughts and reactions to the assessment are also captured in student journals, which are maintained throughout the course. Reflective exercises allow learners to experience praxis – a powerful cycle of action and reflection. In today's hyperactive business environment, time set aside for this type of reflective thinking is rarely taken and frequently absent.
Executives are encouraged to select raters from their business contacts, bringing the voices of their working associates into the academic process. Barbara Mathey, a credit union CEO and 2007 George Fox MBA graduate, recalled her selection process: "I chose the survey participants carefully to assure honest, open feedback. Although some of the results were difficult to see it was exactly the feedback I was hoping for. The insight gave me the opportunity to reevaluate and change my approach to more effectively use my leadership skills and to obtain additional skills where I was lacking." In Mathey's assessment, "the 360 review proved to be one of the most productive parts of my MBA program."
George Fox University provides one 360 degree feedback survey as part of the MBA curriculum for its Executive Track students. Often, an executive who experiences a 360 survey as a student will seek a follow-up survey to evaluate progress. Consultant and Air National Guard Reservist Joseph Brewer, a 2008 George Fox MBA graduate, observed that "the power of this tool appears to be in the ability to show professional development, and that analysis came only through the second review. Through effective comparison between reviews, I was able to clearly see those areas that improved and it was both an enlightening and rewarding experience as a result." Brewer anticipates continued use of 360 degree feedback for professional development. He concluded, "This tool will remain in my professional inventory as a means to develop strengths."
As part of a course on organizations, 360 degree feedback surveys allow each learner to collect live data from his or her own working environment. Due to the personal nature of the feedback received, executive MBA students show a keen interest in learning to interpret the results. This tool has proven useful on a variety of levels. The feedback demonstrates how behaviors are reflected in the perceptions of raters who observe the subject from various perspectives. It also provides an excellent example of how data can be analyzed and reported in ways that contribute to its value and usability. Learners experience data-gathering, analysis and application firsthand in a way that contributes to professional and personal development. And finally, they are introduced to a type of tool that can be applied in a variety of ways in the organizations they serve.
About George Fox University
George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university's campus in Newberg, Oregon, and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem and Redmond, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor's degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees including the Master in Business Administration and Doctor of Management.
About Jim Steele, Ed.D.
Jim Steele, Ed.D, GPHR is Assistant Professor of Management in George Fox University’s School of Management. He teaches Masters and Doctoral level courses in management, organizational behavior, international business and research methods. In addition, Jim is owner and principal consultant for Working Smart Northwest, an HRD and learning consultancy dedicated to creating organizations that deliver great results through practices and processes that respect and nurture the human spirit. Jim has assisted organizations in implementing 360 degree feedback surveys from Booth Co. since the early 1990s when he was a member of the first group of internal consultants certified to facilitate the Survey of Management Practices at Intel Corporation.
