In my last blog we took a walk through the 100 Acre Wood and came to the conclusion that with a little help from a 360 degree feedback session, Owl would probably be able to enhance his communication skills by learning how to talk to people instead of talking at them. Dissecting the character of Owl got me thinking about other characters in the 100 Acre Wood family and the role they play.

The sweet and cute character of Piglet has 2 very different sides to his personality. On a positive note, despite the fact that he may be very small with a stutter and apparent anxiety issues, he often triumphs over his fears and seems to want to be brave. The negative side of Piglets personality is that he’s one of life’s beings who agree with everything you say, even if he doesn’t want to. Unfortunately for him, this lack of backbone has cost him dearly in the past. At one point he even lost his home to Owl because he wouldn’t defend his rights as a homeowner. Confronting issues that could be problematic is not one of his positive features.

Generally in life people hate confrontation. This doesn’t automatically show a lack of confidence for tackling issues or a desire for an easy life. Face to face encounters that include challenging and potentially hostile issues can bring all manner of issues to the surface. On a personal level, there can be the fear of losing friends or alienating families. How many times have you put yourself in a situation that you don’t want to be in, for fear of upsetting a family member? Christmas Day is a classic example. More often than not, we want to be at home, in front of the fire sipping mulled wine watching re-runs of old movies. What do we find ourselves doing? Spending hours traversing icy roads in the car to Auntie Janet’s, with the kids moaning in the back that they want to be at home playing on the Xbox. How many of us have the strength to say “no” to the invitation?

Confrontation is a concept that most of us think of in a negative vein. Although the definition of "confrontation" means "to face defiantly", it also means "to come face to face with; to compare." Dealing with difficult colleagues can be a source of anxiety for many people. Confrontational issues frequently arise in the workplace, but can be very difficult to tackle under normal circumstances. How many of us feel we have the ability to point out weaknesses or flaws in the management team? Could you tell your boss that his communication skills could do with a little smoothing around the edges? If your line manager is terrible at time management and this has a negative impact on the team, how do you let him know?

Enter 360 degree feedback. This form of appraisal comes from all around an employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle, with an individual symbolically in the center of the circle. The feedback itself is provided by a variety of people related to the candidate taking part including peers, direct reports and managers. It’s a process that enables employees to receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them. Taking part in a good 360 degree feedback survey gives people a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and presents the responses in a format that helps the recipient create a development plan.
The 100 Acre Wood could be a very different place to live if all its inhabitants had taken part in a 360 degree feedback review? I’ll let you know how Eeyore fares in the next installment…..