A 360 or 180 degree feedback is a powerful self-development tool used worldwide in organizations and other contexts. It is simply an exercise where you select competencies that are relevant to your work/life/role circumstances, rate yourself on where you see yourself, and then ask others to rate you on the same. Your own results are then compared to the average rating of all raters. The consistency and/or discrepancy between these scores gives you tremendous insight into how others perceive you depending on their relationship to you, and insight into where you may not be getting through to people effectively. These scores also highlight your hidden strengths, your blind spots, and areas for development. A 360 or 180 feedback is one of the best ways you can use to develop and sharpen your self-awareness.

A 360-degree feedback is where your raters include people at all levels of relationship with you, i.e. bosses, peers/colleagues, as well as direct reports.

A 180-degree feedback, on the other hand, is where your raters are at the same level as you (peers or colleagues), and a person you report to.