Leadership 360s vs. Performance Reviews for Feedback in the Workplace

Feedback is essential to any successful organization. But not all feedback tools are created to serve the same purpose. Leadership 360 assessments and performance reviews are often mistakenly treated as interchangeable when in reality, they are built to answer very different questions.

Understanding how and when to use each one — and, importantly, when not to — is key to supporting effective development and driving accountability across your teams.

At The Metiss Group, we use Leadership 360s to gather meaningful feedback during The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ program. We’ve helped countless leaders uncover their blind spots so they can approach leadership development with an informed strategy.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What is a Leadership 360?
• What is a Performance Review?
• Why Leadership 360s and Performance Reviews Aren’t Interchangeable

What Is a Leadership 360?

A Leadership 360 is a multi-rater feedback tool designed to support personal and professional development. It collects input from peers, direct reports, and manager to help a leader understand how they are perceived by those around them.

Unlike performance reviews, Leadership 360s are not designed to evaluate whether someone is meeting specific job expectations. Instead, they focus on leadership habits — how a person shows up, collaborates, communicates, and supports others.

When to Use Leadership 360s

Leadership 360s are best used for development — not evaluation. They are particularly useful for:

• High-performing individuals looking to grow
• Leaders preparing for future roles
• Aligning leadership behavior with organizational values and strategy
• Enhancing emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness

Because Leadership 360s are designed to support development rather than evaluation, they are not structured to deliver specific, corrective feedback tied to job performance. The questions in a 360 focus on patterns of behavior and perceptions of leadership style — not on whether someone is meeting the fundamental requirements of their role.

When a 360 is used to address underperformance, it creates two problems. First, it shifts the responsibility for candid performance feedback away from the manager and places it on peers or direct reports. It also  relies on a tool that was never intended to diagnose or correct performance issues. 

The result is often vague or misdirected input that fails to address the core concern — and may leave the individual more confused than clear about what needs to change.

Sample Leadership 360 Question

At The Metiss Group, we use Management Research Group’s Leadership Effectiveness Analysis 360. The LEA 360 uses questions that describe leadership behaviors instead of asking for direct ratings. 

Here is a sample question:

I see this person as:

A) Lively and dynamic

B) Valuing my opinions

C) A helpful associate

What Is a Performance Review?

A performance review is a formal evaluation of an employee’s job performance over a defined period. Conducted by the individual’s manager, it typically focuses on whether goals have been met, how work has been executed, and what contributions have been made to the team or organization.

Performance reviews are designed to drive accountability, align individual goals with organizational priorities, and inform key decisions around compensation, promotions, and career progression.

When to Use Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are most appropriate when you need to:

• Evaluate whether someone is meeting their role expectations
• Set or review goals and metrics
• Make decisions about raises, promotions, or performance improvement
• Address concerns about underperformance

Unlike 360s, performance reviews should not rely on anonymous feedback or crowd-sourced opinions. The responsibility for evaluating performance belongs to the manager — not peers or direct reports. When used properly, performance reviews foster clear expectations and direct, actionable feedback.

At The Metiss Group, we recommend leaders evaluate their direct reports at least on a quarterly basis. When leaders only do annual performance reviews, they tend to only focus on the employee’s performance in the last few weeks.

Sample Performance Review Questions

A well-structured performance review centers on outcomes and execution. Here are three example questions a manager might consider when evaluating a direct report:

1. What results did the employee deliver, and how did those outcomes align with expectations or goals?
2. How effectively did the employee manage responsibilities and follow through on commitments?
3. How did the employee contribute to team collaboration and communication?

These questions are simple, but they create space for honest reflection — and they keep the focus where it belongs: on performance, not personality.

Why Leadership 360s and Performance Reviews Aren’t Interchangeable

Despite some superficial similarities, Leadership 360s and performance reviews are built for entirely different purposes. Confusing the two can create significant problems.

Using a Leadership 360 as a substitute for a performance conversation shifts the responsibility of delivering tough feedback from the manager to the raters. This undermines both the purpose of the 360 and the integrity of performance management. It also creates confusion for the leader receiving feedback, who may struggle to distinguish between developmental input and performance concerns.

Performance reviews are also a poor fit for leadership development because both the format and the feedback process invite rater bias. Most performance reviews rely on Likert scales or open-ended questions, which often reflect personal impressions rather than consistent behavioral patterns. 

Without contrast or comparison — like you get in a semi-ipsative format — it's easy for ratings to be inflated, vague, or overly influenced by recent interactions. Even well-intentioned managers can unintentionally reinforce blind spots or miss opportunities for growth simply because the tool isn’t built to surface them.

Each tool provides value, but only when applied in the appropriate context.

Final Thoughts

Leadership 360s and performance reviews each serve a critical function. When used intentionally and appropriately, they complement one another:

• Performance reviews ensure accountability and alignment with organizational goals.
• Leadership 360s support growth, self-awareness, and targeted development.

Leaders need both: clear performance expectations and meaningful feedback on how they are showing up as individuals and team members. But they also need those conversations to be distinct. Blurring the lines only weakens both tools.

Here at The Metiss Group, we guide leaders through the Leadership 360 process in our program, The Strategic Leadership Alignment™. This solution helps leaders align their development with their organization’s strategic goals.

Now that you understand Leadership 360s vs Performance Reviews, the next step is to learn more about
The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ and how 360s are used in this process.