Human Resource Services

UF Leader 360

Training and Organizational Development is pleased to announce a new online 360º assessment for leaders at UF that is specifically tailored to the UF Leadership/Management Competency Model.  This assessment was developed as part of UF’s ongoing commitment to providing professional and personal development opportunities to UF leaders.  

UF Leader 360 is a multisource assessment that provides leaders with anonymous, questionnaire-based feedback from a variety of raters including colleagues, direct reports, supervisors, and customers.  By soliciting feedback from a variety of people, leaders receive a full circle perspective on their leadership skills.  Leaders invite a minimum of 15 people to complete the online assessment.  Once the feedback is collected, the leader is provided with a summary report of the results.  A coaching session is also included in the assessment process. 

The assessment is free of charge for managers accepted to the “Managing at UF: The Supervisory Challenge” managers-only cohort.  For campus leaders who are not part of the manager cohort, UF Leader 360 is available for a fee of $75.  There is limited availability for this development opportunity.  If you are interested in scheduling an assessment for yourself or another leader in your unit, please call us at (352) 392-4626 or email us at UFleader360@ufl.edu.

As noted, UF Leader 360 will be included in the managers-only cohort opportunity for the “Managing at UF: The Supervisory Challenge.” Leaders accepted to the cohort will complete two assessments – one prior to beginning the cohort program and one at its completion – in order to further develop their leadership skills.  By completing two assessments during the cohort experience, leaders are able to identify their current skill level and assess progress made. 

The Assessment
The contents of this assessment are based on the UF leader/manager competency model.  The model and definitions were validated by first conducting focus groups and interviews across campus to identify the appropriate competencies needed to be a successful leader at UF.  After completing focus groups and interviews, HR experts vetted the information with senior leadership across campus. Additionally, Dr. Cynthia Garvan, Co-director of Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services (CAPES), provided additional survey design and validity and reliability testing assistance.

Raters
With UF Leader 360, participating leaders identify a minimum number of potential raters in multiple categories to ensure they get a full circle view of their leadership skills.  The categories are:

Raters should have first-hand knowledge of the leader’s work in order to give an honest assessment. The assessment is used for leadership development purposes only so it is important that leaders get a clear view of how they are doing. 

The information raters provide in the assessment is anonymous (except for ratings from the leader’s supervisor).  The database is only accessible to selected HR administrators. The responses are aggregated by category (self, direct report, supervisor, colleague, other) and put into a report that shows the overall feedback picture rather than individual responses.  If there aren’t enough raters who respond in a category, their responses will be incorporated into the colleague or other category to help ensure anonymity.  After the leader’s report is generated, all identifying information is disconnected from the responses in the database leaving only the results with no personal data connections.   Training and Organizational Development will use the aggregated information to help us in our efforts to define and develop effective leadership at UF.

Once a minimum number of assessments are completed for a leader, Training and Organizational Development provides the leader a report that summarizes the feedback as it relates to the manager/leader competencies.  The report shows leaders where they are doing well and helps identify areas for growth.  As part of the process, leaders also will attend a coaching session to help them reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and begin to chart a path for improvement.

If you have questions about the assessment or your responsibilities as a rater, please contact us by calling (352) 392-4626 or emailing UFleader360@ufl.edu.

Leaders
One of the benefits of completing UF Leader 360 is that you will receive feedback from a variety of sources.  By asking for feedback from multiple sources, you get a fuller picture of your leadership skills.  In order to get that 360º view, you will need to invite at least 15 people to complete your assessment.  The following people should be included in your list of potential raters:

If you are not part of the “Managing at UF: The Supervisory Challenge” managers-only cohort and are interested in scheduling an assessment or want to know more information, please call 392-4626 or email UFLeader360@ufl.edu. 

Once an assessment is scheduled, you will need to send a list of potential raters to UFLeader360@ufl.edu to be entered into the database.  The list should be in MS Excel format and include the following information, in this order:

If you want to invite a colleague or customer who does not have a Gatorlink account, a temporary Gatorlink username and password can be set up.  To set up a temporary Gatorlink username and password, you must have one of the following roles:

Typically, the person that handles the HR function in your unit will have one of these roles and can set up the temporary account.

You will receive a confirmation email from Training and Organizational Development with the link for the assessment once all of your raters are entered.  Next, invite each person on your list of potential raters to complete the assessment and complete your own assessment.  Click here for a sample email that you can consider using for your raters.

After the assessments are completed, Training and Organizational Development will contact you to set up a day and time for your coaching session.  You should also take time to thank your raters (individually or as a group) for their feedback.  Let them know that you listened and that you are going to be working to better leverage your strengths and work on areas of improvement.

The coaching session is an opportunity for you to reflect on the feedback you received.  It is also a time to identify any next steps – what you are doing well that you can leverage more fully and areas on which you might focus in order to improve your leadership skills.  During the session, a Training and Organizational Development member will provide you with support and tools to help you start the process. 

If you have questions, please contact us by calling (352) 392-4626 or e-mailing UFleader360@ufl.edu.