The Foreign Service Journal, December 2016

70 DECEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS On Oct. 12, AFSA invited Dr. Beth Fisher-Yoshida to lead a discussion about 360-degree feedback in the Foreign Service context as part of the association’s effort to identify examples of industry best practices and bring them into Foreign Service processes. Dr. Fisher-Yoshida is a faculty member and direc- tor of the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program at Columbia University. “There is nothing like the 360 process for professional development,” AFSA Presi- dent Ambassador Barbara Stephenson said in welcom- ing participants to the event. But she questioned whether 360-degree feedback is as useful when it is part of the bidding process. Amb. Stephenson also noted that during a series of “structured conversations” she has been conducting with AFSA members, bidding has consistently been among the top concerns for all levels of FSOs. Beginning the session, Dr. Fisher-Yoshida reviewed the uses of 360-degree feedback in the Foreign Service (e.g., professional development, bidding and promotions) noting that 360 degree feed- back is appropriately used for professional develpment and leadership training. She also discussed how 360-degree feedback data is collected, how it is used for different processes within the Foreign Service, who can see the data and, more importantly, who owns it. Following the presenta- tion, attendees formed discussion groups to con- sider the challenges of the current system and what could be done to improve the experience with 360-degree feedback. Each group con- sisted of entry- and mid-level members of the Foreign Service, as well as AFSA staff members. State Vice President Angie Bryan and FCS Vice President Steve Morrison also attended the session, and USAID Vice President Sharon Wayne joined one of the discussion groups to pro- vide the USAID viewpoint. Most par- ticipants agreed that, while 360-degree feedback can be a very useful tool for professional development, there should be a better system for the bidding and assignments process. When consid- ering 360-degree feedback in terms of bidding and assignments, a number of issues were raised, including a lack of transparency within the system; potential bias of raters for or against the candidate; appropriate train- ing for the person reviewing the feedback and excessive subjectivity of the questions asked. The discussion was lively and benefited greatly from the differing perspectives of all participants. For a recording of the event, visit www.afsa.org/video. n —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor 360-Degree Feedback in the Foreign Service AFSA/GEMMADVORAK From left: State Representative Jason Donovan, State Vice President Angie Bryan, Dr. Beth Fisher-Yoshida, AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson and FCS Vice President Steve Morrison at the 360 Feedback event at AFSA headquarters.