I’m guessing many of you reading this have been part of a 360 review, where everyone at your work gets to tell you what you’re not doing well and how you can improve. I used to coach an engineer who got such devastating feedback on his 360 review one year that it almost caused him to completely shut down. And he definitely didn’t embrace the mean-spirited things people said about him (because it’s all anonymous so people can say just about anything they like).
David Cooperrider, co-founder of Appreciative Inquiry, talks about how people are inspired to change and improve when, instead of hearing just the negative, they discover what they are doing well, what’s best about themselves and then learn specific ways to use their strengths more effectively. The University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship has even developed a Positive
360.
Andrew Carnegie, a 19 th century captain of industry who helped build the American steel industry, was interviewed and asked how he managed to help so many men become millionaires. His reply, “It’s a lot like digging for gold, you have to dig past the “dirt” to the part that shines.”
Think about how Appreciative Inquiry might be effective in your work environment. By finding out what people are doing well and what drives them, using gratitude, active-constructive responding and creating opportunities, it’s easy to find the parts that shine in others and help them build confidence and self-respect.
