The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2015 19 The State Department Needs to Reevaluate Its Use of 360-Degree Reviews BY WI L L I AM BENT SPEAKING OUT I f used correctly, 360-degree reviews can be a valuable tool for an organiza- tion seeking to develop its workforce and foster a culture of leadership and management excellence. The increasing use of 360s in organizations, including the State Department, stems from the recognition that a performance appraisal alone does not give a full picture of an employee’s effectiveness and potential. As Richard Lepsinger and Antoinette Lucia stated in their 1997 book, The Art and Science of 360-Degree Feedback : “Neither upward nor downward feedback includes the perspectives of a significant population—colleagues, peers, members of project teams, other senior managers and customers—who depend on and are affected by the behavior of a given manager. These people are also in a posi- tion to observe a wide range of behaviors that might not be apparent to a direct supervisor or a direct report. Gathering information frommany different people provides a complete portrait of behavior on the job.” This probably explains why the various bureaus in the State Department are rely- ing more and more on 360s in the assign- ment process. Given the criticisms often lobbed at the Foreign Service Employee Evaluation Review, it is understandable that their use has increased in the depart- ment. In a systemwhere some claim EERs WilliamBent, a consular-coned officer serving in Bridgetown, Barbados, is a former member of the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board and the AFSA Gov- erning Board. Bent joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and has served in Prague, Kingston, Santo Domingo, Kabul and several domestic assignments. He recently graduated from the National War College. inflate accomplishments to the point where every Foreign Service officer “walks on water,” it is natural that those respon- sible for filling Foreign Service positions would seek a more reliable method of screening bidders. Assignment decision-makers obvi- ously want to find the most qualified per- son for the position, particularly when it involves significant leadership and mana- gerial responsibilities, such as a deputy chief of mission job or the supervisor of a large consular operation. Worthy as these intentions may be, the department’s current use of the 360-degree review process to determine assignments is misguided and detrimen- tal to the long-term health of the Foreign Service. A Development Tool The true value of the 360-degree review—and its most common use by far in the private sector—is as a develop- ment tool. When an employee receives constructive feedback—negative as well as positive—from supervisors, peers and subordinates, true career development can begin if the individual can translate this feedback into a plan of action to grow. Two examples of the State Depart- ment’s use of the 360 are in line with this approach to human resource develop- ment: the Foreign Service Institute’s use of the 360 in its leadership and manage- ment training classes and the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ use of the 360 in its annual Consular Leadership Indicator survey. CA’s CLI offers every consular supervisor the opportunity to, on a voluntary basis, solicit feedback from subordinates via an online tool that then aggregates the results and provides a scorecard to the manager. In both examples, the results are not the end point, but rather constitute the first step in a process of self-reflection and, hopefully, growth as a leader and manager. Indeed, the literature on 360s makes it very clear that discussion of the results is a key component of the process, the purpose of which is to develop lead- ers. Unfortunately, other than these two examples, the department’s use of 360s is not for developmental purposes, but for what amounts to hiring decisions. The department’s current use of the 360-degree review process to determine assignments is misguided and detrimental to the long-term health of the Foreign Service.