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Richard Lepsinger and Anntoinette D. Lucia. The Art and Science of 360 Degree Feedback (2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2009, 320 pages, $50.00 hardcover.
As the authors note in their Preface, it is amazing that more than 10 years have gone by since the publication of the first edition of this seminal work, and this second edition is long overdue. Lepsinger and Lucia (I will reference them as "L&L") are seasoned professionals and consultants who have as much to offer in this field as anyone else I can think of. The depth and breadth of their work is reflected in this new offering in their coverage of many of the challenges that confront practitioners in this field, supplemented by many anecdotes and quotes from HR professionals who have had to address the realities of implementing a 360 process.
In the Preface, L&L point to three authences they are hoping to serve: human resource professionals who are somewhat new to this area, line managers who must make the decisions, and experienced HR professionals who seek a reference source that covers much of the waterfront on this topic. Rightly so, they do not include students and academics in this list, and I would suggest that this book is weighted more toward the "art" side of the equation than toward the "science" side. This was probably a wise and conscious decision on their part in not trying to satisfy too many authences.
The book is divided into two major sections: Preparing to Use 360Degree Feedback (Part One) and implementing a 360-Degree Feedback System (Part Two). Chapter 1, "The ABCs of 360-Degree Feedback," begins with a cursory history of the field and proceeds to an overview of current trends. L&L briefly acknowledge the importance of determining the purpose of the 360 process in their review of uses. I would humbly propose that the decision of purpose is the most important one, not the selection of instrument as proposed later on in the book.
Chapter 2, "The Uses of 360-Degree Feedback," starts with six case examples as a means of showing us how various organizations have used 360-feedback processes. The summary list of lessons learned is very helpful.
Chapters 3 through 5 are focused on how to collect data and...