Our Services
360 Leadership Appraisals
What we do:
Steed Education conducts 360° senior leadership appraisals, specialising in working with Headteachers and Principal-CEOs who have a wider role overseeing both the educational and the operational sides of the school. We also conduct appraisals using the same structure for CEOs, CFOs, COOs and CPOs.
Our approach is much closer to the way in which performance reviews are conducted in business/industry rather than the way that they have traditionally been done in education.
We have worked with a partner company, InsightfulEdge, to adapt a 360°-appraisal tool that they have developed for business/industry to reflect the language of a school context (“parents” rather than “customers”; “school” rather than “organisation” etc.) .
The 360° Appraisal Process
There are a number of elements to the way in we conduct a 360° Appraisal:
Self-appraisal
360° questionnaire completed by upt to five key stakeholder groups who answer the same questions, thus enabling triangulation between the appraisee’s responses and those of the different groups. Stakeholder groups can be tailored to the context and the direction of the appraisal but typically might include:
Board
Executive Team
Senior Leadership Team
a sample of wider teaching staff
a sample of wider support staff
Interviews with the Stakeholder Group to follow up on the 360° Questionnaires.
Review of previous year’s targets
Setting targets for the following year
The 360° Appraisal Questionnaire
The behaviours that underpin each section are based on over 30 years of research and provide a comprehensive and rounded view of those factors most likely to impact individual and organisational performance. The Questionnaire adopts an Operating Styles model, which looks at 4 key styles:
Style 1: Leading: This encompasses the individual’s ability to
Establish Purpose & Direction
Lead Change
Style 2: Managing: This encompasses the individual’s ability to:
Set Clear Performance Standards
Manage Individual & Team Performance
Organise and Plan
Style 3: Coaching: This encompasses the individual’s ability to
Create a Learning Climate
Unleash Potential
Style 4: Influencing: This encompasses the individual’s ability to
Network
Influence Others
Style 5 Core: This section establishes perceptions of the individual’s
Emotional intelligence – empathy, awareness of self and others, flexibility and self control
Core leadership attributes – self-confidence, care for others, resilience and tenacity, attitudes towards risk, responsibility and the extent to which the individual Role Models the values and standards expected of them.
The Operating Styles Model - Insightful Edge
There are also four free text questions which allow appraisers to provide wider context and information:
Please describe up to three things that make this person effective as a Leader which you would like them to continue?
Please describe up to three things that make this person less effective as a Leader which you would like them to stop doing or change?
Please describe anything you would want this individual to start doing which would make them more effective as a leader?
Any other comments?
Follow-up Interviews with the Appraisee and with Stakeholder Groups
The appraisal questionnaire highlights areas where the self-appraisal aligns with others’ perceptions of them; and highlight areas where they differ. These combined with the free-text comments should throw up some common themes, which I would then explore with personal/ small group interviews when I am in school, along the lines which you outline in the draft agenda
Interviews may be conducted one-to-one or in small groups.
It is possible to include other stakeholder groups in the process at this stage. These might include feedback from professional peers outside the school, parents and students.
Feedback and Report
There is full verbal feedback to the appraisee at the end of the interview process.
There are two reports:
A data report giving a detailed analysis of the questionnaire comparing the appraisee’s responses with those of the 360° appraisers.
A written report which outlines
how the appraisal was conducted
the key issues coming out of the follow-up Interviews with the Appraisee and with Stakeholder Groups;
An analysis of how the appraisee has performed against most recent targets;
A list targets for the following year.
If you would like more information about appraisal, please email enquiries@steededucation.com; or complete the online form.