Before participants receive their individual feedback reports, they are given a few key pointers for getting the most out of their feedback. These include:

Pay Attention to Your First Impression of the Data. We typically have an immediate reaction to the data we see. They either make us feel great (“Hey, I didn’t know I was doing that!”) or terrible (“I can’t believe people see me that way!”). There is no real reason to fight the feeling, but we do need to move through it in order to see the data for what they represent.

Focus on the Messages, Not Just the Measures. Recipients must look at the data in the context of their jobs—the nature of their work, the goals they are trying to achieve, and the skill and experience of their team members. High ratings are not always good, and low ratings are not always bad. For example, low frequency ratings in “monitoring” may not be bad news for someone working with an experienced team in a reasonably stable environment. However, high frequency ratings in the same situation may raise concerns of micro-managing or lack of confidence in others’ ability. Also, to go beyond the averages or the numbers per se, recipients should look at the relative highs and lows, as well as patterns that might appear either within or between the scales.

Appreciate the Perceptions of Others. Recipients may believe that other people’s perceptions of them are incorrect—that their raters neither understand their jobs nor understand the demands and constraints they must work with—and they may even be right. Unfortunately, in this case, being right is not worth much. Ratings reflect the manager’s effect on others, not his or her intent. The questions recipients need to ask themselves, therefore, are, “What am I doing that causes people to see me differently than I see myself?” or “What is going on in the organization that could affect people’s perceptions of me?”

Importance Feedback. The feedback is presented in blocks of information, which allows people time to process and assimilate the data. The first block of data is the importance feedback (see Exhibits 7.2 and 7.3). Ideally, a report should provide two views of this information: how the recipient and the boss rated each practice on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (absolutely essential), and the four practices the recipient and the boss identified as most essential practices for effectiveness on the job.

As people review this part of the report, we ask them to consider the following questions to guide them in their analysis and interpretation:

Feedback on Frequency of Use. When recipients analyze the data on how frequently raters perceive that they are using specific practices and behaviors, they also have an opportunity to compare their own self-ratings with the ratings of their evaluators. The report (see Exhibit 7.4) should display the data using average scores, frequency distributions, and comparisons to national or industry norms (percentile scores).⁵

People are then asked to review this information, using the following questions as guides:

As noted before, it is crucial to focus on strengths as well as weaknesses during this activity. The consolidated data become the basis for the sharing and clarifying meeting. We recommend that, before development targets are finalized, recipients meet with their raters to confirm their findings, clarify messages that were confusing, and hear suggestions for actions that would improve effectiveness. Pointers on holding effective meetings with raters should be offered during the workshop. (Advice on consolidating data and on meeting with feedback providers is offered in the next chapter.)