Tornow Walter W - Maximizing the Value of 360-degree Feedback: A Process for Successful Individual and Organizational Development

LEADERSHIP. LEARNING. LIFE.

THE BOOK TEAM

(From left to right): Nur D. Gryskiewicz, Walter W. Tornow, Carol A. Paradise-Tornow, William W. Sternbergh, Jennifer W. Martineau, Cynthia D. McCauley, Jean Brittain Leslie, Maxine A. Dalton, Ellen Van Velsor, John W. Fleenor, Manuel London

Not shown: Stephane Brutus, Lily Kelly-Radford, and Patricia O'Connor Wilson

A PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL I N D I V I D U A L A N D ORGANIZATIONAL D E V E L O P M E N T

WALTER W. TORNOW MANUEL LONDON AND CCL ASSOCIATES

George P. Hollenbeck

Manuel London and Walter W. Tornow

Stephane Brutus, John W. Fleenor, and Manuel London

William W. Sternbergh

Maxine A. Dalton

Walter W. Tornow

Carol A. Paradise-Tornow

Patricia O'Connor Wilson, Cynthia D. McCauley, and Lily Kelly-Radford

Ellen Van Velsor

and Maxine A. Dalton

Jennifer W. Martineau

Walter W. Tornow and Manuel London

"It's about time." That's the thought that kept running through my mind as I read Maximizing the Value of 360-Degree Feedback. The more I read, the more I knew I was right. On a number of levels, this is indeed a book whose time has come.

First, as a collection of chapters addressing the broad issue of using 360-degree feedback for individual and organizational development, the time is right. Too much has been said and not enough has been written. Every day, brochures arrive describing new "best practice" conferences, new instruments, new product offerings. Few are the organizations that don't use 360-degree feedback of some sort. Yes, it's about time.

Second, it's about time that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) opened the tent to a broader audience and shared what it has been doing on 360-degree feedback. It's not that CCL hasn't been generous with its time and talent in presentations and publications, but to my knowledge never before has a book so displayed the thinking behind the feedback-based programs that have made CCL first in class. And never have those thoughts been shared in one place for so many people.

Third, this book has an all-star author line-up. Despite long associations and acquaintances with many of CCL's authors, I read with a touch of awe the extraordinary list of the authors and their qualifications. If it is true that "the people make the place," it is easy to see why CCL is, in the minds of many, a special place. It's about time we saw more of these authors.

Fourth, Maximizing provides an example for all of us of values in action. Intentionally or not, the pieces here are written from the heart. So it's no surprise that feedback for development (rather than evaluation) is the theme-no surprise that there is an optimistic, sincere, humanistic bent to the writing-no surprise that the recommended practice is careful and thoughtful and is based on good science and research. The writings and prescriptions follow the care on which CCL is founded.

And last but not least, Maximizing is a book for a broad audience. Having been asked to write the Foreword, I cannot but wonder, Why me? Of all the choices available, why was I the one? Perhaps in this case the answer is my protean career, a career that has encompassed many roles, including human resources executive, in-house researcher and practitioner of industrial and organizational psychology, semi-academic (always as an adjunct), sometime author, and now executive performance consultant regularly using 360-degree feedback. Perhaps it's this diverse nature of my career that has provided me with an appreciation for this book from the perspective of all these intended audiences.