Multifaceted feedback for organizational heads for self and organizational development: experiences of school principals

Abstract

The design and use of multi-faceted feedback as a developmental tool for organisational heads is the focus of this paper. A customised feedback instrument was designed for school principals to enable assessment by self and various stakeholders. The instrument was designed to assess principals’ administrative, managerial and leadership competencies and school policies and systems that are designed, regulated, supervised and/ or controlled by the principal. The multi-faceted feedback made it possible to provide a comparison of principals’ own evaluation of their efficacy with reference to that of the relevant stakeholders. The feedback received is analysed and interpreted to aid in the preparation of a developmental plan for future action. Insights obtained from this experience are used to discuss issues in the use, design and administration of multifaceted feedback for organisational heads. The underlining concern is to fine-tune each aspect of the feedback process to maximise gains for the receiver of the feedback and the organisation.