One of the lovely statistics out there (probably an urban myth) is that 80% of us think that we are better than the average driver.  There is actually a term for this general phenomena : “illusory superiority”.  Here is Wikipedia’s definition

Illusory superiority is a cognitive bias whereby individuals overestimate their own qualities and abilities, relative to others. This is evident in a variety of areas including intelligence, performance on tasks or tests, and the possession of desirable characteristics or personality traits.

Now, there is a tendency within the 360 feedback market (and performance appraisal for that matter) to want to rank people against each other.  And anyone who has every debriefed a 360 report will know that many recipients want to know “how do I compare to others”.

Put this together and you get a dangerous mix.  The recipient gains information on how they rank (let’s not consider whether this ranking is in any way valid) against their peer group and potentially other individuals known to them.  Now, it is highly unlikely that this will be good news for the majority of people thanks to the illusory superiority.  Not many of us would take well to being told we are a below average driver, let alone that we are a below average manager in our organisation.  We certainly may struggle to be told that we’re worse than Bob or Jane in Accounts!

The only benefit I can see to this ranking is to generate a competitive instinct ‘to prove them wrong’ and to move up the rankings.  Is that desirable behaviour in a team – that we compete with each other?  I can think of very few industries or sectors where this is long term desirable behaviour.

Some things are best left unsaid and best left to pub conversations.  Creating a ranking of people will rarely lead to desired behaviours against an organisation’s espoused values.

Brendan

www.bowlandsolutions.com