The process for analyzing the 360 survey results for the last two years has been an enlightening experience. For the two survey administrations a total of five colleagues completed the survey. The data was broken into three groups: supervisor, peers and direct reports. The analysis of the information provided a clear picture of my leadership strengths and weaknesses.

360 Data Analysis

Data Analysis Flaws

Comparing the surveys over a two year period of time was challenging. First, in this sample only five participants were surveyed per year. Over the course of the two years, only two participants completed the survey for both years. Therefore, the validly of the trend analysis is weak at best in the categories of peers and supervisor. However, the category of direct reports remained the same and answers were examined closely.

Second, the supervisor category has an additional flaw. Last year, the supervisor did not complete the survey. This year, I have a new supervisor. She was asked to complete the survey after working with me for a little over five months. According to my supervisor, she decided to answer Satisfactory for most questions because of limited time working with her directly.

Third, while the direct report surveys were completed by the same people, the responses need to be interpreted with caution. Due to a personnel issue, one of the direct reports (the teacher) no longer trusts my judgment. The personnel matter involved a poor relationship between the teacher and her collaborative teacher. Mediation, through me, did not strengthen or improve the relationship. The professional partnership was severed. As a result, the collaborative partnership was terminated, but the general education teacher felt the response was not satisfactory. She preferred her colleague be penalized. Because of this belief, the individual no longer feels supported or understood. The feelings of this individual have been acknowledged, but the reality of her expectations is not attainable.

Constant Variable

The only constant variable in regards to participants was the direct reports category. The same direct reports, a teacher and the school counselor, completed the survey both years. As previously mentioned, when comparing the data from the disgruntled direct reportanswers were significantly lower in three areas. These ratings would directly relate to the personnel issue. The ratings declined in the categories of:judgment, sensitivity, results orientation and strengths/weaknesses. The teacher reported that “She interacts professionally and tactfully with others” decreased from Outstandingly Effectively Effective in 2011 to Minimally Effective in 2012. My abilities to “consider implications of a
decision before taking action” and “relate individual issues to a larger issue” also dropped from Outstandingly Effective to Minimally Effective. The teacher also felt thatin the areas of:“taking appropriate action”, “communicating a rationale for decision”, and “seeks additional information when making a decision” has declined from Outstandingly Effective to Satisfactory.

While these decreased scores make me closely reflect on the personnel issue and analyze each step of that situation, there are few steps that I could have changed. However, I am left to feel that this is an accurate reflection of how this teacher feels. I must respect her perceptions and honesty, but need to frame my overall interpretations of strengths and weaknesses without a focus on her responses solely.

The encouraging information gathered from the teacher’s survey is an increase in abilities in communication, organization and developing others. Each of these skills increased from Highly Effective to Outstandingly Effectively Effective. The school counselor confirmed the teacher’s opinion by scoring those skills as Outstandingly Effectively Effective.

The second direct report, the school counselor, stayed consistent from last year. Her scores mostly rated my skills as Highly Effective to Outstandingly Effective. In retrospect, the difference in scores between the school counselor and the teacher’s scores is easily explained. The perception of how I handled a personnel issue skewed the teacher’s opinion of me. The teacher is only allowed to see the one side of how the situation was handled. Due to Human Resource policies and legal issues, the teacher was only privy to the portion of the problem. She knew a teacher had been moved, but did not understand that due process prevented the loss of the other teacher’s job. Like the personnel issue, the teacher is is not privy to the behind-the-scenes discussions and interviews of other situations in the building.

The school counselor, however, is part of my leadership team and is involved in many confidential situationsincluding parents, students and staff. The counselor understands the steps I go through to make a decision, is familiar with the fact collection process, and is my sounding board for how a decision will affect all parties involved. Therefore, she truly understands the factors which bear on what information may be divulged to staff. As a result of our professional working relationship she trusts my judgment.

The one caution with the desire to discredit the teacher’s opinion is that I need to find a way for others to understand my process and how I arrive at a decision.There are many more staff members and parents who don’t get to be part of the process like the school counselor. Therefore, my process needs to be transparent if the details cannot. The actual level of my skills lies somewhere between the two respondents’ ratings.


Ten Characteristics of Leadership and Personal Reflection

Setting Direction

It was affirming to see that my school counselor and my colleagues agreed that I articulate high performance expectations for myself. I have always tried to lead by example and am proud that the people I work with see this dedication. However, the second year’s data from my personal evaluation reflects my need to remain focused on the vision I established last year. My school division has implemented more programs this school year and I have not done the best job weaving the new initiatives into our school vision.

A weakness in this area continues to be “generating enthusiasm towards common goals”. I work very hard to get buy-in to an idea or change, but I realize buy-in does not necessarily equate to enthusiasm.

Teamwork

Three out of five respondents felt “I contribute ideas toward accomplishing the team’s goal”, I assist in performing the operational tasks of the team”, and “I act to maintain direction or focus to achieve the team’s goals”. I did not rank myself as Outstandingly Effectively, but I do feel that my work ethic reflected byrolling up my sleeves and doing what needs to be done to complete the task is apparent to my colleagues and staff.

One area in which I may need to strive for some improvementis “seeking consensus among team members”. After much reflection, I realize that I am very good at the structure of teamwork and the gathering of data, but not in getting a consensus. In retrospect, the decisions I make are often what I want to do based on the conversations held. As a new leader last year, I relied heavily on teamwork to build relationships and get a sense of buy-in to changes. For my second year, my score in this category dropped to satisfactory because I moved from a pure teamwork approach to some decisions being made by only the administrative team.This change may appear as a more heavy-handed approach to leadership

Sensitivity

This aspect of leadership was very high for me overall in the first administration of the survey. My direct reports and my colleagues

were in agreement with me that this is a strength. In retrospect, it is not surprising as my MBTI was high as a feeler. I work very hard to think of how decisions affect others.

The others did not agree, but I ranked myself as satisfactory in one area, “I express written, verbal, and/or nonverbal recognition of feelings, needs or concerns in responding to others”. I ranked it lower because I do not feel I respond, as well, in writing. My writing does not reflect the same concerns I have in person.

Judgment

Judgment was another strong aspect for me. The median was close to Outstandingly Effective for both reporting collaborators in year one. Particular strengths were the ability to use information sources that are relevant and to identify the cause of a problem.

However,in 2012, my overall judgmentscores seemed to take a hit from both my teacher and my supervisor. The reasons for the decline have been explained previously. However, the main areas of concern were, “identify the cause of the problem” and “see the relationshipamong issues”. There must be validity to this concern because one of my peers also ranked that as a deficit area for two years in a row. While I disregarded this the first year, it is clear I need to reflect on my actions and understand this weakness. In the past, I assumed that I linked the issues to a larger goal or program because I knew all the parts of a problem. However, I must not be fully explaining the connection to others. It will be necessary for me to discuss with my administrative team decisions that need to be made to make sure I have considered all possible issuesso I can and articulate the process to the staff.

Results Orientation

It was not surprising to me the strongest skillsin this area was the ability to initiate action for improvement. This has been my primary focus for the last two years, as a new principal. I believe my peer has a clear picture of my drive because she is often my sounding board for ideas and their implementation.


Last year, I was shocked the weakest area was the ability to relate individual issues to the larger picture. Since the first survey analysis, I have worked very hard to articulate to the staff how the procedures we follow, or the programs we implement directly correlate to the goals and directives of the county. Confirmation I have improved how I present information to my staff was seen by the Highly Effective rating.

Organizational Ability

My colleagues and direct reports ranked me as highly effective in my ability to organize. I am a structural leader. I establish checklist and protocols for how things are to be completed. Others see me as prepared for meetings and able to establish timelines, schedules and benchmarks.

I continue to struggle with monitoring on going progress. I strive to do a better job. I realize that I often get bogged down in other parts of my job and fail to meet one of my own.To address this challenge, I have begun to use an on-line monitoring system to remind me to follow-up on certain tasks twenty-four hours prior to the due date.

Oral Communication

I am humbled that the other respondents believe I have Highly Effective oral communication skills. I did not rank myself that high. I believe that I am harder on myself because I tend to focus on the areas I can improve. I work very hard to prepare for meetings, especially staff development meetings, so teachers know I understand the topics, procedures, or details.

There is an area that is consistently weaker in my profile. The ability to “tailor my message to the audience” needs some attention. I continue to be cognizant of presentations to my faculty to make sure I am meeting their needs. I have even tried to “flip” my faculty meetings so ‘time is not wasted on covering information they can read for themselves. Our time together is better used discussing questions that arise from the information given. This has been a well-received change by my faculty.

I have also tailored email messages to be grade level specific or individual specific, so teachers are not inundated with information that does not pertain to them.

Written Communication

A year ago, this category revealed the most diverse ratings of any area. I did not rank myself as confidently as others. Through this program, I have had to analyze my writing and reflect on my feedback. This is an area of growth for me. My strength within this area is the ability to write for different audiences. This was confirmed by the others.

All respondents this year ranked this category very high. The hard work invested over the last year on the technical aspect of my writing has clearly increased my proficiency in this area.

Developing Others

For the second year, my colleagues and direct reports believe I am Highly Effective in the area of developing others. We concur that I share expertise gained through experience. However, four out of six people feel I do not seek agreement on specific actions to be taken for development of growth. I believe the reason behind this perception is because of my propensity for assigning tasks

based on what is needed to accomplish the big picture. The professional development assigned may not be what the direct reports believe they need personally. I continue to struggle to balance what my direct reports would like to learn more about and what areas I feel they need to improve on to accomplish the goals of the school.

Understanding My Own Strengths and Weaknesses

This was the most interesting category to me. For the past two years, my peers and direct reports viewed my skills as Highly Effective. However, I viewed myself as Satisfactory. I believe the only explanation for this is that I carry myself with more confidence than I truly have. I also believe that I ranked myself lower this year because it has been a more challenging year to remain consistent and focused on the changes which need to be made.


Conclusions

The 360 Survey was a very valuable exercise. After analyzing the data, I am more aware of my strengths and weaknesses. It is helpful to know how others perceive me and how that perception may or may not match my views.

The benefit of completing a survey each year would allow me to track my growth as a leader. The inconsistent participants over the past two years have made the analysis a little more challenging.

However, the two surveys have caused many hours of self-reflection. This is just the beginning of the process. From here the information derived from the analysis must be acted upon. The awareness is the first step in pursuing continued growth.

References

Stefanko, E. (2011, February). Reflection of 360 Data.Virginia Commonwealth University.