Nope, not a 180. But a 360.

We’re just beginning our new ministry year, which corresponds to a school year calendar (Albanian elementary and high schools begin in September, whereas universities begin in October). At the beginning of every year our teams take time to pray, plan, strategize, and set goals for the year, both ministry and personal ones.

One of my roles in the organization where I serve is to help with Staff Development– helping staff to pursue personal growth in the areas of their spiritual walk with God, personal maturity, relationships and in ministry effectiveness.

What are the key elements to truly growing within a 9-month period?

A Personal Development Plan + Mentoring/Accountability + an atmosphere of Grace & Truth + Time = GROWTH!

The 360 Lite is a tool that falls into the category of a creating a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

It is called a 360 because it gives a person a view of himself from every angle– by getting different people’s feedback in response to 6 key questions.

It requires feedback from:

• someone who is a superior, leader or mentor
• two peers– perhaps one within your workplace or organization and one from outside of it
• from a subordinate of yours, i.e. someone you lead, disciple or mentor
• a roommate or spouse
• and YOU! (fill out one for yourself)

This feedback is truly invaluable and provides a good idea of areas where you excel and things that are holding you back.

Here are the 360 Lite Questions:
1. What do you see as my core or best contribution as a leader?
2. What strengths do you suggest I develop?
3. What is one thing that I should work on that is holding me back as an effective leader?
4. What is my greatest hindrance to being focused?
5. What progress have you seen me make in the last year?
6. What people skills or leadership skills should I work on first?

As I’ve begun to receive feedback from several friends and leaders of mine, thoughts are already percolating in my mind as to why they emphasized certain things. I’m encouraged as I’m reminded of my strengths as a leader and have been challenged by the input given regarding my weaknesses or things hindering me. I’ll share more in another post about one comment that caught me off guard but is proving to be very insightful.

After gathering all the 360 Lite’s from others and putting them together in a summary form along with your own self-evaluation, you can see the areas you most need to focus on. While maybe 5 or 6 key areas are mentioned by others, you’ll only want to choose between 2-4 areas to focus on in one year. Biting off too much can overwhelm you and hinder your progress. But selecting one or two strengths to develop and one or two weaknesses to work on is a healthy goal.

I encourage you to be proactive in your growth as a leader and person who contributes to your workplace or organization! Take the ‘360 Lite Challenge’ and set some practical goals for yourself this year. You’ll be surprised at how helpful it is to receive honest, sincere feedback from those who are closest to you.

Download 360 Lite Questions in PDF

Photos by: 1. Flavio Takemoto 2. Dominik Gwarek