The way to get started when evaluating your senior management with 360 evaluations is, therefore, by educating them on these matters.

In the first place, let the executives know that by being evaluated in this way they will serve as role models for employees. Unlike the traditional performance review, 360 evaluations use feedback from both peers and direct reports. This makes them an especially democratic form of evaluation. Senior management will set an example for employees by showing that they are willing to listen to this feedback. They will also earn employees’ respect.

360 evaluation programs are also more likely to work if employees feel that the process is taken seriously at the highest organizational level. Employees may think that the 360 program is just for show and no one really takes it seriously. In that case, survey participation rates will be low and employees will be less responsive to the feedback. Let senior management know that their participation in the process will make a difference to its success at other organizational levels.

Executive participation in 360 programs send a strong message about the organization’s feedback culture. 360 evaluations require employees to be able to give honest feedback about managers without fear of reprisal. They also require employees to be able to accept feedback. Employees who are not used to feedback cannot use it for their development.

Both giving and getting feedback is easier in an organization with a strong feedback culture. Let senior management know that their participation in the 360 program is part of building a feedback culture.

360 evaluations are always about development. However, this aspect may be of special importance to senior management. The higher your position in the company, the less likely employees are to feel comfortable giving you feedback. Executives may find themselves in a feedback vacuum, which makes it difficult for them to grow or be challenged.

Senior management should approach 360 evaluations as a rare opportunity for multiple-source feedback. When you are initiating executive 360 evaluations, make sure that you emphasize this opportunity. But also remind executives of how much their development matters to the organization.

This option may come as a surprise. The Wall Street Journal reported on the practice of disclosing 360 evaluation results in a 2011 article. Joann S. Lublin wrote that 25 top executives at HCL Technologies Ltd. shared their results on the company’s internal website. Nearly 6600 other managers at the company shared their feedback results with the employees who evaluated them.

What better way to take accountability and show leadership than by publicly owning up to your flaws? Not every organization may feel that this level of transparency is necessary or desirable. However, you can use such examples to emphasize the impact of senior management undergoing 360 evaluations.