Article
10 min read
360 Feedback Questions for Leadership: Evaluate and Nurture Leaders
Global HR
Author
Lorelei Trisca
Published
June 14, 2024
Last Update
September 20, 2024
Table of Contents
Traditional performance appraisal questions for managers
Competency-based 360 feedback questions for managers
360 feedback questions for discovering emerging leaders
Best practices for working with 360 feedback questions for leadership
How to interpret and use the results of your 360-degree leadership assessments
Establish a 360 feedback system at record speed with Deel Engage
360-degree feedback is a powerful tool to evaluate and enhance managerial performance. By gathering insights from multiple perspectives—self-assessment, peers, superiors, and team members—companies can foster a holistic understanding of leadership strengths, areas for improvement, and growth opportunities.
This article includes 90+ 360-degree feedback questions tailored for managers and emerging leaders, divided into traditional 360 performance appraisals and competency-based 360 assessments.
Traditional performance appraisal questions for managers
This comprehensive list of 360-degree feedback questions helps you gain a holistic view of managerial performance, from self-assessment to team feedback.
Use these 360-degree questions for managers at all levels—from team leaders to upper management.
Self-assessment questions for managers
Self-assessment is a critical component of performance appraisals. It allows managers to reflect on their abilities, achievements, and areas for improvement. These questions encourage introspection and self-awareness, essential traits for effective leadership.
Rating questions
Rate your ability to handle pressure on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you find it very difficult and 5 means you manage pressure exceptionally well.
Rate your overall effectiveness as a manager on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means not effective at all and 5 means highly effective.
Rate your satisfaction with your team’s performance on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means not satisfied at all and 5 means very satisfied.
Rate your ability to manage your workload on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you often struggle and 5 means you manage your workload very well.
Rate your ability to align team goals with company objectives on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means goals are rarely aligned, and 5 means goals are consistently aligned.
Qualitative questions
What are your most significant achievements in the past year?
What are your top three goals for the upcoming year?
How do you ensure continuous improvement in your management practices?
How do you handle feedback from your team members?
What do you think your team members appreciate most about you?
Where would you like to delegate more to your team members?
Where would you like to delegate less to your team members?
How could you better balance attention and efforts between short-term tasks and long-term assignments?
Performance Management
Peer feedback questions for manager reviews
Peers provide valuable insights into a manager’s ability to collaborate, communicate, and contribute to a positive work environment. These questions capture the perspectives of fellow managers who work closely with the manager under evaluation.
Rating questions
Rate the manager’s ability to represent the company values on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely embody the values and 5 means they consistently embody the values.
Rate the manager’s ability to solve conflicts efficiently on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to manage conflicts and 5 means they handle conflicts effectively and fairly.
Rate the manager’s willingness to help others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely help and 5 means they always help.
Rate the manager’s ability to foster a positive work environment on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely foster positivity and 5 means they consistently create a positive environment.
Qualitative questions
How has this manager contributed to the department’s success?
What areas should this manager focus on to improve their leadership?
How well does this manager handle organizational changes?
What is this manager’s most significant contribution to the company’s goals?
Can you give an example of a situation where this manager dealt with a challenge well?
What do you think this manager could do to improve their performance?
How does this manager contribute to a positive work environment?
What improvements would you suggest for this manager’s leadership style?
Superior feedback questions for manager reviews
Feedback from superiors is crucial for understanding how well a manager aligns with organizational goals and expectations. These questions focus on leadership effectiveness, goal achievement, and adaptability to change.
Rating questions
Rate the manager’s ability to lead by example on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely set a good example and 5 means they consistently set a high standard.
Rate the manager’s ability to achieve department goals on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely achieve goals and 5 means they consistently meet or exceed goals.
Rate the manager’s ability to manage their team effectively on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with management and 5 means they excel at managing their team.
Rate the manager’s ability to adapt to changes in the workplace on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to adapt and 5 means they adapt very well.
Qualitative questions
What are this manager’s greatest strengths?
What areas do you see for this manager’s improvement?
How does this manager handle constructive feedback?
What sets this manager apart from others within the organization?
How well does the manager adapt to changing priorities and business goals?
Team member feedback questions
Team members can offer unique perspectives on a manager’s ability to communicate, motivate, and support their professional development. Use these questions to gather feedback from those directly reporting to the manager.
Rating questions
Rate the manager’s ability to communicate expectations on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means expectations are often unclear and 5 means expectations are always clear.
Rate the manager’s responsiveness to team needs on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they are often unresponsive and 5 means they are consistently responsive.
Rate the manager’s ability to motivate the team on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely motivate the team and 5 means they consistently inspire and motivate the team.
Rate the manager’s ability to solve problems on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they often struggle and 5 means they solve problems effectively and efficiently.
Rate the manager’s ability to support team members’ professional development on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they provide little support and 5 means they provide a lot of support.
Rate the manager’s approachability on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they are rarely approachable and 5 means they are always approachable.
Rate the manager’s fairness in evaluating performance on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means evaluations are often unfair and 5 means evaluations are always fair.
Qualitative questions
How well does this manager solve conflicts?
How well does this manager listen to and address your concerns?
How does this manager support your career development?
In what ways does this manager motivate you to achieve your best work?
How does this manager handle workload distribution within the team?
What changes would improve your working relationship with this manager?
What is one thing this manager could do differently to improve team dynamics?
What is one thing this manager should start doing?
What is one thing this manager should continue doing?
What is one thing this manager should stop doing?
Complimentary resource
Learn how to set up an effective 360 feedback system from scratch.
Competency-based 360 feedback questions for managers
Competency-based feedback focuses on specific leadership competencies essential for managerial success. This section includes questions related to customer focus, communication, emotional intelligence, decision-making, vision and strategic thinking, and team management. Use your leadership competency framework to select relevant competencies for leadership appraisals.
Find inspiration in our free resources
Self-review competency-based questions
Self-review questions encourage managers to assess their proficiency in key leadership competencies. These questions help managers identify their strengths and areas for development in critical competencies.
| Competency | Self-review |
|---|---|
| Communication | - Rate your ability to clearly communicate with your team on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle to communicate and 5 means you communicate with clarity and precision. - Describe a time when you effectively communicated a complex idea to your team. |
| Emotional intelligence | - Rate your ability to understand and manage your emotions and those of others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle with emotional intelligence and 5 means you excel at understanding and managing emotions. - Describe a situation where your emotional intelligence helped resolve a workplace issue. |
| Decision-making | - Rate your ability to make informed decisions on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle with decision-making and 5 means you make well-informed and timely decisions. - Describe a situation where you made a difficult decision and its outcome. |
| Vision and strategic thinking | - Rate your ability to develop and communicate strategic ideas on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle with strategic thinking and 5 means you excel at developing and communicating strategic ideas. - Describe a strategic initiative you contributed to and its impact. |
| Team management | - Rate your effectiveness in managing team dynamics and fostering collaboration on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle with team management and 5 means you excel at managing team dynamics and fostering collaboration. - Describe a specific instance where you successfully managed a team conflict. |
| Customer focus | - Rate your ability to understand and meet customer needs on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle to meet customer needs and 5 means you excel at understanding and meeting customer needs. - Describe an instance where you went above and beyond to satisfy a customer. |
Peer review competency-based questions
Peers provide valuable feedback on a manager’s competency in areas such as communication and emotional intelligence. These questions gather insights into how colleagues perceive the manager.
| Competency | Peer feedback |
|---|---|
| Communication | - Rate the manager's communication skills on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to communicate and 5 means they communicate with clarity and precision. - Provide an example of how the manager has effectively communicated important information. |
| Emotional intelligence | - Rate this manager's ability to demonstrate empathy and understanding towards others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely demonstrate empathy and 5 means they consistently demonstrate high levels of empathy and understanding. - Provide an example of the manager effectively using emotional intelligence effectively. |
| Decision-making | - Rate this manager's decision-making skills on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with decision-making and 5 means they make well-informed and timely decisions. - Provide an example of a good decision made by this manager. |
| Vision and strategic thinking | - Rate the manager's ability to align their team’s goals with the overall company vision on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with alignment and 5 means they excel at aligning goals with the company vision. - Provide an example of the manager demonstrating strategic thinking. |
| Team management | - Rate the manager's ability to support and develop their team members on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they provide little support and development and 5 means they are highly supportive and developmental. - Provide an example of how the manager has fostered a collaborative team environment. |
| Customer focus | - Rate this manager's ability to prioritize and address customer concerns on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with customer focus and 5 means they excel at prioritizing and addressing customer concerns. - Provide an example of the manager effectively focusing on customer satisfaction. |
Manager feedback competency-based questions for managers
Feedback from superiors on competencies like decision-making and strategic thinking is crucial for understanding a manager’s ability to align with organizational goals. These questions focus on assessing leadership skills from a higher-level perspective.
| Competency | Manager feedback |
|---|---|
| Communication | - Rate the manager's ability to communicate organizational goals to their team on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to convey goals and 5 means they communicate goals clearly and effectively. - Suggest one area where the manager could improve their communication skills. |
| Emotional intelligence | - Rate this manager's ability to handle stress and maintain composure under pressure on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with stress management and 5 means they handle stress exceptionally well. - Suggest an area where the manager could further develop their emotional intelligence. |
| Decision-making | - Rate the manager's ability to make strategic decisions that align with company goals on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with strategic decisions and 5 means they excel at making strategic decisions. - Suggest an area where the manager could improve their decision-making process. |
| Vision and strategic thinking | - Rate the manager's ability to think strategically and plan for the long-term on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with strategic planning and 5 means they excel at strategic thinking and planning. - Suggest an area where the manager could enhance their strategic thinking skills. |
| Team management | - Rate the manager's ability to build and maintain high-performing teams on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to build effective teams and 5 means they excel at building and maintaining high-performing teams. - Suggest an area for improvement in the manager's team management skills. |
| Customer focus | - Rate this manager's ability to integrate customer feedback into their work on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with integrating feedback and 5 means they excel at incorporating customer feedback. - Suggest an area for the manager to improve their customer focus. |
Team feedback questions for managers
Team members can often provide helpful upward feedback on team management. These questions gather insights on how the manager supports and develops their team.
| Competency | Team feedback |
|---|---|
| Communication | - Rate this manager's ability to share information and updates on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely share information and 5 means they consistently share relevant updates. - Rate the manager's ability to communicate expectations and feedback on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means expectations and feedback are often unclear and 5 means they are always clear and constructive. - Describe a time when the manager's communication positively impacted the team. |
| Emotional intelligence | - Rate this manager's ability to handle conflicts and maintain positive team dynamics on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with conflict resolution and 5 means they excel at handling conflicts and maintaining positive dynamics. - Describe a time when the manager's emotional intelligence positively impacted the team. |
| Decision-making | - Rate the manager's ability to explain the rationale behind their decisions on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely explain their decisions and 5 means they always provide clear and logical explanations. - Describe a time when the manager's decision-making positively affected the team. |
| Vision and strategic thinking | - Rate the manager's ability to communicate the vision and strategic goals to the team on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle to communicate vision and goals and 5 means they communicate them clearly and effectively. - Describe a time when the manager's strategic thinking led to a successful outcome. |
| Team management | - Rate the manager's ability to manage team workload and resources on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means workload and resources are often mismanaged and 5 means they are managed effectively and efficiently. - Describe a time when the manager successfully motivated the team. |
| Customer focus | - Rate this manager's ability to encourage customer satisfaction within the team on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely emphasize customer satisfaction and 5 means they consistently prioritize it. - Describe a time when the manager's focus on customers improved team performance. |
Career Management
360 feedback questions for discovering emerging leaders
A 360 format offers the perfect opportunity to discover emerging leaders everyone working close to the person can voice an opinion. This section includes 360-degree feedback questions to uncover potential leadership qualities in individual contributors (ICs).
Self-review questions
Self-review questions help emerging leaders reflect on their abilities and leadership potential. These questions focus on initiative, influence, and adaptability.
Rating questions:
- Rate your ability to take the initiative on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you rarely take the initiative and 5 means you consistently take the initiative.
- Rate your ability to influence others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you rarely influence others and 5 means you consistently influence others positively.
- Rate your ability to adapt to changing priorities on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means you struggle with adaptation and 5 means you excel in adapting to changes.
Qualitative questions:
- What motivates you to take on new responsibilities?
- How do you handle setbacks or failures?
- What leadership qualities do you believe you possess?
- Describe a situation where you took the lead to solve a problem or complete a project.
Peer feedback questions
Peers provide valuable insights into an emerging leader’s collaboration, motivation, and problem-solving skills. These questions help identify potential leaders from a peer perspective.
Rating questions:
- Rate this employee’s ability to collaborate effectively with team members on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely collaborate and 5 means they consistently collaborate.
- Rate this employee’s ability to inspire and motivate others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely inspire others and 5 means they consistently inspire others.
- Rate this employee’s problem-solving skills on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with problem-solving and 5 means they excel in problem-solving.
Qualitative questions:
- Can you provide an example of a time when this employee showed strong leadership skills?
- What strengths do you see in this employee that would make them a good leader?
- How does this employee handle difficult situations or conflicts?
- In what areas could this employee improve to become a better leader?
Manager feedback questions
Feedback from managers on an emerging leader’s potential, strategic thinking, and ability to handle responsibilities is crucial for identifying future leaders. These questions focus on assessing leadership potential from a managerial perspective.
Rating questions:
- Rate this employee’s potential for leadership roles on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they have little potential and 5 means they have high potential for leadership roles.
- Rate this employee’s strategic thinking abilities on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely think strategically and 5 means they consistently demonstrate strategic thinking.
- Rate this employee’s ability to handle increased responsibilities on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they struggle with more responsibilities and 5 means they excel in handling increased responsibilities.
Qualitative questions:
- What leadership qualities have you observed in this employee?
- How well does this employee align with the company’s values and vision?
- What areas should this employee focus on to enhance their leadership potential?
- Describe a situation where this employee demonstrated strong decision-making skills.
Mentee, junior team members feedback questions
Emerging leaders often mentor junior team members, providing valuable insights into their leadership capabilities. These questions gather feedback from those who the emerging leader has directly supported.
Rating questions:
- Rate this employee’s ability to communicate effectively on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely communicate effectively and 5 means they consistently communicate effectively.
- Rate this employee’s ability to support and mentor others on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely provide support and 5 means they consistently offer support and mentorship.
- Rate this employee’s ability to lead by example on a scale of 1-5, where 1 means they rarely lead by example and 5 means they consistently lead by example.
Qualitative questions:
- Can you describe a situation where this employee helped you or another team member succeed?
- How does this employee handle feedback and constructive criticism?
- What sets this employee apart from others in terms of leadership potential?
- In what ways does this employee contribute to a positive team environment?
Deel Engage
Best practices for working with 360 feedback questions for leadership
Implement these best practices to create a robust performance management system that supports continuous leadership development and aligns with your organizational objectives.
- Set clear objectives: Define the purpose of the 360-degree feedback process—are you identifying leadership potential, assessing current performance, or both?
- Use a mix of rating and qualitative questions: Combining both types of questions provides a balanced view of performance and specific examples for improvement
- Limit the number of questions: Include a balanced number of questions—up to 20—to ensure comprehensive feedback without overwhelming respondents
- Regularly review and update questions: Ensure the feedback questions remain relevant and aligned with organizational goals and leadership competencies
- Provide training: Educate participants on how to give and receive feedback effectively—focus on actionable feedback that can support growth
- Follow up on feedback: Create action plans based on the input received to address development areas and leverage strengths
- Encourage self-reflection: Allow managers and emerging leaders time to reflect on the feedback and develop their improvement plans
How to interpret and use the results of your 360-degree leadership assessments
The rating phase is step one of your leadership assessment. Step two is analyzing the data and acting on it, and it’s crucial to get it right.
Compare self-assessments with the feedback from the other sources
Is there a mismatch between how the leader rates their performance and how their peers, subordinates, and supervisors rate it?
A high mismatch will point to a need for more self-awareness in the leader.
Identify patterns and trends
Focus on finding overarching themes and patterns across a range of feedback. It’s easy to get bogged down in individual remarks, but try to zoom out and see the bigger picture.
For example, if five out of ten raters said they found the leader “unapproachable,” this could suggest a need for better interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
Set goals for leadership improvement
Translate the feedback into actionable next steps leaders can use to improve. We recommend using the SMART method:
- Specific: Set clear and unambiguous goals
- Measurable: Identify how you’ll measure progress
- Achievable: Ensure the goal is realistic
- Relevant: Ensure the goal is in line with overall organizational objectives
- Time-bound: Establish a timeline for goal completion
Learn more about setting actionable goals for leadership improvement and get inspired by our thoughtfully curated SMART leadership goals examples.
Create L&D action plans
Use the feedback collected from all sources to uncover development opportunities and define relevant training programs or mentoring relationships. These could be in-house programs or external ones, such as executive coaching.
Tip: Use leadership development plans to outline the goals and steps required to achieve them.
Monitor progress and course-correct
As HR, your role is to support development and create an environment for current and future leaders to thrive.
Remember: A 360 leadership assessment isn’t a one-time event. Repeat the process at intervals, tracking progress to ensure leaders meet their goals or if they need any course correction.
Align leadership assessments with the overall HR strategy
360-degree leadership assessments are a critical tool, but HR must use them in tandem with other strategies to monitor progress in their organization.
Matthew Ramirez, CEO of Paraphrase Tool, explains:
“360° assessments can be a great way to get a deeper understanding of how employees are feeling about their leaders, but they shouldn’t be the only tool HR uses to decide about management.
When using 360° assessments in isolation, HR can get a one-sided view of the organization. Instead, they should be used with other HR tools, such as exit interviews or focus groups. By using multiple tools, HR can get a more holistic view of how employees feel about their leaders and what areas need to be addressed.”
Establish a 360 feedback system at record speed with Deel Engage
Moving from single-reviewer performance reviews led by managers to 360 feedback reviews offers a more holistic picture of a person’s performance and strengths. However, setting up and following through takes a lot of effort from HR teams.
Establish a feedback culture that boosts performance and growth with Deel Engage’s 360 feedback solution:
- Set up a highly customized 360 feedback process in just a few clicks
- Link competency models and career paths to motivate the entire workforce
- Automatically assign and engage people based on specific criteria (e.g., hire dates, role-level assignments, etc.)
- Send reminders to ensure reviewers submit their feedback in due time
- Analyze results to understand skill gaps and development potential
Get a free demo of our 360-degree feedback software today.
With Deel Engage, we can clearly outline career paths and roles aligned with our values, streamline feedback processes, and encourage personal growth.
—Christina Bacher,
Team Lead of People and Organization, reev
FAQs
What is a 360-degree leadership assessment?
A 360-degree leadership assessment is a comprehensive evaluation tool used to assess a leader’s leadership skills, behaviors, and effectiveness based on feedback from multiple sources. This assessment gathers input from various perspectives, including the leader’s peers, subordinates, supervisors, and sometimes external stakeholders or customers. The feedback focuses on the leader’s strengths and areas for improvement, offering a well-rounded view of their performance, decision-making, communication, and leadership style.
This type of assessment aims to provide leaders with valuable insights into how others perceive them in the organization, helping them grow and improve their leadership skills.
What are the primary objectives of 360 leadership assessments?
Instead of receiving feedback from a single source, this leadership assessment delivers a more comprehensive view of how the leader is doing by:
- Identifying strengths and weaknesses: A wide range of opinions makes it easy to spot where a leader excels or needs support
- Fostering self-awareness: Carrying out a self-evaluation enables leaders to zoom in on their skillset
- Promoting professional leadership development: Acting on the feedback supercharges growth and equips leaders for future challenges
- Measuring leaders’ impact on others: Tracking 360 leadership results over time can be instrumental in understanding employee engagement and turnover rates
What is the 360 assessment score?
The 360 assessment score is a numerical or qualitative rating that summarizes the feedback collected from all the respondents involved in the assessment. Feedback is typically gathered through structured questionnaires with specific questions related to leadership competencies, such as communication, collaboration, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.
For example, each respondent provides a rating on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent, for different aspects of the leader’s performance.
The 360 assessment score is usually broken down into categories:
- Self-assessment: The leader’s own evaluation of their performance
- Peer feedback: Input from colleagues and coworkers at the same level
- Direct reports (upward feedback): Feedback from subordinates or team members
- Supervisors: Input from the leader’s immediate manager or higher-level leadership
These scores are compiled into a report highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and any discrepancies between how leaders perceive themselves and how others perceive them.
What does a 360-degree assessment entail?
A 360-degree assessment involves several steps to gather comprehensive feedback about a leader’s performance. Here’s what it entails:
- Selection of respondents: The leader under assessment selects a group of people they regularly work with, including peers, direct reports, supervisors, and sometimes customers or external stakeholders
- Questionnaire: Respondents complete a structured 360-degree questionnaire that asks them to rate the leader on various competencies and behaviors—these may include communication skills, leadership effectiveness, team collaboration, emotional intelligence, decision-making, and conflict resolution
- Self-assessment: The leader completes the same questionnaire, providing their own perspective on their leadership performance
- Data compilation: Feedback from all respondents is compiled into a comprehensive report that compares the leader’s self-assessment to the assessments from others
- Analysis of results: The results are analyzed to identify patterns, strengths, and areas for improvement. Common areas of discrepancy (e.g., if a leader rates themselves highly in communication but others rate them poorly) are highlighted
- Feedback session: The leader receives a detailed report and typically engages in a feedback session with a coach or HR professional to interpret the results and develop an action plan for improvement
- Action plan: Based on the feedback, the leader creates a development plan to address any areas that need improvement and to build on their strengths
Overall, a 360-degree assessment provides a holistic view of leadership performance, encouraging personal and professional development through constructive feedback from multiple perspectives.
What are the top benefits of 360 leadership assessments?
The top benefits of 360 leadership assessments are:
- Cultivating self-awareness: Leaders who take part in 360 assessments can recognize their weaknesses better and understand how they should act in the future
- Uncovering blind spots: 360-degree feedback can identify areas of leadership that are hard to recognize without an outside perspective, such as the leader’s communication style or ability to motivate team members
- Promoting a culture of continuous improvement: Leadership assessments set the tone for development across the organization. When individual contributors see leaders held to the same standards, it encourages everyone to strive for higher performance. As a result, it fosters a growth mindset that embraces constructive feedback
More resources
About the author
Lorelei Trisca is a content marketing manager passionate about everything AI and the future of work. She is always on the hunt for the latest HR trends, fresh statistics, and academic and real-life best practices. She aims to spread the word about creating better employee experiences and helping others grow in their careers.
