360 degree feedback and leadership development

If we had to identify the major areas of growth in relation to techniques for supporting leadership development, it would have to include use of 360 degree feedback. At two recent US conferences (The 24th International Congress on Assessment Centre Methods, May 1996, held in Washington, DC, and the First Annual Leadership Development Conference held in October 1996 in Boston), dedicated to presentations by researchers and practitioners on the subject of leadership assessment and development, the topic of multi-rater or multi-source feedback, as it is also known, formed a key component. This paper will outline some of the reasons why this is the case, and some of the research findings that have emerged in the last few years including issues relating to gender and perceptions of leadership. It wilt also describe how the author has been involved in introducing 360 degree feedback processes in several public sector organizations in the UK, together with lessons that have emerged.