Why should I participate in Leadership Foundations?
The x360 survey provides you with observations gathered from a variety of individuals (including yourself) on their perceptions of your leadership capabilities. From this feedback you learn about your perceived areas of strengths and opportunities for development. The x360 Leadership Development report is meant to serve as a catalyst for identifying development goals on which to focus during your time at MIT Sloan and beyond. Working with a guide and a small group of your peers, you will begin to structure a plan to achieve those goals.
Who completes the x360 survey?
The x360 survey is an online, multi-observer assessment instrument developed by xLEAD. The x360 Survey is administered by LearningBridge, an independent web-based survey provider. Once you are entered as a participant (by Leadership Center staff) into the LearningBridge platform, you will then submit individuals who you wish to include as "observers" – people who will candidly provide ratings of your leadership capabilities. You will also rate yourself. You will assign observers into categories based on their relationship with you. Standard categories include "manager", "peers", "direct reports", and/or "other."
Observer "categories" are standard. You should feel free to use the categories in whatever way makes the most sense given your circumstances. Think of the categories as labels, not as required groups. For example, classmates from your university could be categorized as "Peers" or all the people with whom you worked at a summer internship could be categorized as "Clients." All observers in all categories answer the same questions. Information will be grouped in aggregate accordingly. For anonymity, it is necessary to receive at least two responses per category (except for "manager").
If you were in a short-term (summer) position, you might also consider including people from a previous job within the last two years. The feedback survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. You may have as few as 3 total observers.
Please note: Your observers should be fluent in English to complete the survey.
How much time will the x360 survey require of me or my observers?
Signing up to participate takes just a few minutes. The subsequent steps will take a varied amount of time. Considering who to include as observers may take some thought but shouldn't take more than a few days to decide. It is recommended to ask observers directly (in person or via email) to let them know you would like them to participate in the x360 survey. Completing the survey should take no more than 20 minutes. The deadline for all observers (including you) to complete the survey can be found in the timeline.
Reviewing your report and filling out the Reflection Worksheet should take as much reflective time as you need. Watching the two videos should take no more than one hour. The guided small group discussions are scheduled for 90-minutes.
Who are the Guides?
This is a group of dedicated Sloan faculty, staff, and alum who have volunteered to serve in this role. All guides have reviewed the tutorial videos and completed a training on best facilitation practices for the small group discussions.
How and when do I get feedback?
After all your observers submit feedback and you have completed the self-assessment, your individualized report is created. You receive this report via email. The feedback is aggregated, so you do not know how a specific person rated you, except for your manager. This report is intended solely for your benefit to support your own leadership development.
Who sees my feedback?
When you meet for your guided small group discussion, it will be up to you to decide how much detail you wish to share. Only you and your guide will see your full x360 Leadership Development Report. The session is used to reflect on the feedback and to explore individual development goals. To ensure confidentiality, all x360 feedback and data are maintained by an outside, independent consulting firm, LearningBridge.