Self-awareness can be greatly improved by:

• Gaining the insight of colleagues, peers, direct reports and even customers and suppliers, in addition to the line manager's views
• Comparing self-assessment with the perceptions of colleagues
• 360 degree feedback can give invaluable input to talent management, performance appraisals and training evaluation, as well as helping employees at every level to develop to their full potential

How it works - in very simple terms:

• A questionnaire is developed with a set of indicators that assessors can 'rate' a person against - usually on a 5 point scale, and sometimes with the inclusion of comments and suggestions for improvement
• The questionnaire is distributed to a group of colleagues and associates ( the 'assessors') that are in a good position to judge the person on these indicators. The '360' nature of the process and the assessors is shown in the diagram opposite
• The data is gathered from the assessors and provided as a report to the person being assessed
• A one-to-one meeting then takes place to discuss the results, and to help the person being assessed to understand their results and act upon them