The Self-Test: 360º Feedback

The Self-Test is upfront and personal. The results you receive will be specific to you and come directly from those closest to you. Sometimes other people can see us better than we can see ourselves. This test is particularly enlightening as it allows you to see yourself through other peoples’ eyes.

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What is ‘The Self-Test’

The aim is to discover where your self-image matches other peoples’ perception of you and where it does not. This is a valuable awareness because how you show up in the world greatly impacts your career and life results.

10 Sample Questions

• If Steve won a $ 1,000,000, what would he do with it?
• How do you perceive Steve?
• When is Steve at his best?
• Where is Steve challenged the most?
• If Steve was in a movie, which type of character would he be?
• What is most important to Steve?
• Whilst you have known Steve, how has he changed?
• Where do you see Steve ending up in 10 years time?
• If you could give Steve one bit of advice to help him be successful, what would it be?

Introducing the Test

To get the best results from your friends, family, and colleagues I suggest taking a little time to share what the test means for you.

If you present it as ‘just a bit of fun’ then you will probably receive joke answers.

If you present it very humbly and explain why you are asking them to take the test it will inspire them to give you high quality feedback.

Some good points to cover would be:

• Explaining what the test is,
• What you are hoping to achieve,
• How the Self-Test will help you,
• Where to take the test,
• Emphasise your desire for honest, genuine feedback that encompasses the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Gratitude.

Delivering The Self-Test

Open Questions

You can ask any questions in the test that you like. However, you will get the best results by keeping the questions open and general like the sample questions included above.

These types of questions give the respondent a blank canvas to say whatever they most want to say to you. The information you get out of this will be far more insightful than asking questions like ‘Would I be a good teacher?’.

Anonymity

Making this test anonymous is really important to encourage honest and genuine answers.

By answering these probing questions honestly your friends put themselves at risk. When you receive the feedback you will be surprised by how much the answers reflect back about the people who gave them. How you are perceived is hugely influenced by who is looking at you.

There are two easy ways to make The Self-Test anonymous:

Survey Monkey
This is an online service that delivers surveys and collects the results. The basic package is free. This allows you to create a 10 question survey and email a weblink to your chosen participants. Go to Survey Monkey now.

Pick A Friend
If that is too technical for you, deliver the test by email, but ask for all responses to be sent to someone else. Ask your friend to collect the responses, remove any identifying information and just send you all the raw feedback.

Warning

As you send the test you will likely feel slightly worried. It is normal to be concerned about what people think of you. Actually asking for constructive criticism is quite a rare occurrence. The responses could say anything!

The best thing to do is notice whatever feelings come up but do not let them stop you from hitting ‘send’! If you have picked good reliable people that care about you then the feedback will massively enhance your self-knowledge.

Receiving Feedback

The likelihood is that you will receive some positive and predictable feedback, but also some reflections that are surprising and less complimentary. So before you ask the questions, make sure you really want the answers.

To get the benefit from 360° feedback you actually have to be willing to step into the shoes of other people and understand their point of view. This might be a wake-up call for your self-image, or it could be all good news.

The temptation is to ignore the comments you do not like and focus on the compliments. However, the buried treasure is in the uncomfortable gaps between how you are perceived and your self-image of who you would like to be.

Take each comment and instead of agreeing or disagreeing, just pretend that it is 100% true, and see what you can learn from it. The good news is that your new awareness gives you the opportunity to create a mission statement around your virtues and personal development plan to bridge any gap to fulfilling your potential.

The Self-Test is a fantastic tool for boosting your self-knowledge. By understanding how people perceive you it is possible to adapt and so enhance your capability for success. It is not always easy to receive uncomplimentary feedback because it challenges our self-image. This is exactly what makes it valuable. The new awareness creates the possibility of growing as a person. As such the Self-Test is an irreplaceable tool for making better career choices.

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