Truth Teller is the latest generation of 360-degree feedback reports for leaders to get a good, rounded picture of the impact they're having on others.
Truth Teller has been designed and is run by t-three consulting, who specialise in identifying and developing behaviours and practices that support and help to make people more successful within their working lives.
360-degree feedback means leaders ask for feedback about their personal impact from their own line managers, their peers and people who report into them. They also self-assess themselves.
It's a self-awareness exercise and helps an individual to recognise their strengths (what they’re doing well) and their risks (what they might want to consider doing differently).
This development exercise will help them to add even more value to the relationships they have in the organisation.
The questionnaire and report are specifically designed for Derbyshire County Council, based on the leadership competency framework and the People Strategy.
Truth teller was piloted with the Executive Team members and is now being rolled out to all managers as part of the Inspiring Leaders Programme.
Why you're being asked to complete the survey
Your colleague may nominate you to provide feedback as they value your opinion. You are a 'Truth Teller' rater. Your colleague wants you to think about how you experience them, what their style is, what do you want them to do more of, and less of too. The Truth Teller exercise is part of their personal learning and development journey and will be used to encourage an open feedback culture across the whole of Derbyshire County Council.
Completion of the Truth Teller is not mandatory, if you wish to 'opt out' please respond to the link in the invitation email or email support@t-three.co.uk asking to 'opt out'.
Completing the questionnaire
The questionnaire takes no longer than 10 minutes to complete. It's made up of 4 sections:
- 'At their best' - A 'word wall' consisting of 40 plus words to choose from to describe behaviours when your colleague is 'at their best'.
- 'Not at their best' - a 'word wall' consisting of 40 plus words to choose from to describe behaviours when your colleague is 'not at their best'.
- Rated questions that will require you to rate your colleague on frequency of behaviour.
- Open-ended questions that will require you to provide written feedback.
All your feedback will be open and attributable to you, it is not anonymised which is why it is different from the more standard 360 questionnaires. Please be as open and honest as possible. Your colleague has asked for your feedback because they value your opinion.
How to answer the word walls
You will be asked to choose, from several adjectives. There are 2-word walls for completion:
- Word wall 1: how you see and experience your colleague on a good day - what are they like when they are at their best.
- Word wall 2: how you see and experience them on 'not so good day', what are they like when they are not at their best.
The word walls may seem daunting but do remember these are descriptions for the different types of behaviour your colleague exhibits and may or may not be aware of. Remember, some of the more negative adjectives you can choose are to describe them when they're having a bad day, it's not necessarily what they are like all the time.
In the open-ended section, you can give some context and explanation to the words you've chosen. If you can't find the word, you're looking for in any of the pre-selected words, don't worry! There is an option to add up to 2 of your own words (of up to 16 characters).
Answering the open-ended questions
You will have the opportunity to give some open-ended comments, to give some advice or insight to your colleague. You can use the opportunity to explain what they need to do more or less of to support and lead others. Please be constructive, and as specific as possible.
What happens next
It's good practice for your colleague to discuss with you later about the strengths you see in them. This can include what you want them to do differently so they can add even more value in their role, their working relationship with you, and in their working style.
Your colleague will have received group coaching as part of this process to take them through their individual reports. They will also be encouraged to share their individual report with their own line manager, which will be used to shape and inform their future development plans.