2 COMMUNICATION

Project Team Roles: Executive Sponsor, Program Manager

Successful 360 programs depend on clear and timely communication. The Program Manager is responsible for the day-to-day communication and execution of Everything DiSC^® 363™ for Leaders. The organization-wide announcement, however, should come from the Executive Sponsor.

Announcement to Organization (see Announcement to Organization Template)

Since your entire organization will spend time and energy on the 360 process, it is important that every member of your organization understands the importance of the program.

• The Executive Sponsor communicates to every member of your organization:
  • The purpose, timeframe, and participants as outlined in the Set-Up phase
  • The commitment of the organization to the success of the 363 process
• The announcement can be made via email, meetings, or both. (Adapt the bullet points provided in the Announcement to Organization template as talking points for a meeting format.)

Notifying Leaders (see Notifying Leaders Template)

Leaders are notified by the Program Manager that they’ve been selected to participate. They are given a high-level overview of the purpose and process.

• Explain that the purpose of the 363 program is leadership development, not appraisal.
• Address common fears about 360s and how Everything DiSC 363 for Leaders works.
  • No snide remarks: open-ended comments are replaced with CommentSmart – a comment-selection tool that provides constructive, actionable feedback.
  • No confusing data dumps: 363 uses visuals and a conversational narrative to explain the data and make the report easier to use.
  • The focus is on development: 363 gives you 360 feedback plus three strategies for development—telling you where to spend your energy to improve your leadership effectiveness.
• Request that leaders consider who they would like to invite to be raters.
• Inform leaders that they will receive instructions for next steps by a selected date.

Leader Process Launch (see Leader Process Launch Template)

Detailed instructions for next steps are sent to participating leaders.

• Explain rater selection process and provide deadline for submitting rater information.
  • Select raters from the following groups of people: Manager, Direct Reports, Peer, Others.
  • Select four (4) people (minimum) for each rater group (except Manager). Please note that these minimum numbers reflect best practices; EPIC report generation requirements are different. See Assessment for EPIC requirements.
  • Raters are asked about how you tend to lead and which leadership practices they’d like to see more of. Resist the urge to choose only people who like you or will give you only high marks. A wide variety of feedback is important for ensuring a valid report.
  • Use the Rater Information spreadsheet to collect raters' email addresses, names, and rater type.
• Inform leaders about the email they will receive to take the assessment and the expected timing for completion.
  • On [DATE], you will receive an email message from [Email address]; Subject line: Your leadership program—Action requested.
• Contains an access code to an online assessment that will take 20-30 minutes to complete.
• Complete the assessment by [DATE].
• The assessment is in two parts: a 79-item Everything DiSC assessment; and a 72-item Leadership Behavior section about how you tend to lead.
• Describe the follow-up steps after the assessment process is complete.
  • One-on-one coaching session to process profile feedback
  • Identify development areas and create action plan for follow-up

Rater Process Launch (see Rater Process Launch Template)

Raters are notified by the Program Manager that they’ve been selected to give feedback on a leader-participant, and they're given detailed next steps.

• Explain the role of the raters
  • Selected to give feedback on a leader-participant
  • Purpose of the 363 program is leadership development, not appraisal
  • Rater feedback is anonymous with the exception of the leader's manager
• Address common concerns for raters in a 360 process
  • Rater's feedback will not get the leader in trouble—honest, straightforward feedback is essential for the development process
  • All feedback, including the additional comments the leader receives, will be anonymous, except for the manager’s feedback
  • 363 is faster and easier to use than other 360 assessments because raters don’t have to write out additional responses
• Inform raters about the email they will receive to take the assessment and expected timing for completion
  • On [DATE], you will receive an email message from [Email address]; Subject line: Request for your input on [LEADER NAME]
  • Contains an access code to an online assessment that will take 15-20 minutes to complete
  • Click on the link, and complete the assessment the same day you receive it.
  • Take the assessment seriously; think about responses, but don’t agonize over them; straightforward, honest feedback will assist in leadership development
• Describe the two-part assessment
  • 72-item Leadership Behavior section about how the leader tends to lead
  • 24-item Leadership Requests section asking which leadership practices you’d like the leader to do more of
  • Using CommentSmart, raters can also select from pre-written comments to give additional feedback in the Leadership Requests section.

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