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Developing strategic thinkers, planners, and leaders is one of the most important things we do, and is grounded in the best possible training, education, and experiences.
-Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the Army
The U.S. Army considers it important to develop leaders who can operate in the dynamic strategic environment of the twenty-first century. A component of the Army's training and leader development, and a tool in the self-development domain, is the MultiSource Assessment and Feedback (MSAF) program.1 The MSAF is a 360-degree leader development tool. It provides feedback to leaders who then can use it to inform and focus their self-development.2
Implemented in 2008, the MSAF ostensibly allows users "to navigate complex leadership challenges, to enhance leader adaptability and self-awareness, and to identify Army leaders' strengths and weaknesses" and it "guides their preparation for future leader responsibilities"3 Many civilian organizations use 360-degree feedback for employee development.4 In the Army, officers are required to initiate assessments, provide assessments of others, and annotate the date of their MSAF event on their officer evaluation report (OER).5
However, requiring participation does not equate to developmental effectiveness. Civilian studies on post-assessment feedback from 360-degree programs indicate widespread employee performance improvement is unlikely.6 Additionally, when the feedback is solely in the hands of the individual, accountability in interpreting it is lacking, and an inability to implement behavior changes is likely.7 Development fails to occur when rated officers are unaccountable, when they see the feedback as supplemental information, or when they view the assessment as an administrative event instead of part of their developmental process.8 In other words, the tool can become just a bureaucratic hoop to jump through.
In their groundbreaking work Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession, Leonard Wong and Steven J. Gerras discuss the Army's MSAF:
Requiring all officers to attest on their OERs that they have initiated a multi-source assessment and feedback (MSAF) in the last three years probably has the well-intended purpose of socializing the force to 360-degree feedback. But, the unanticipated outcome has been the diminution of the gravitas of an officer's signature as rated officers, raters, and senior raters dismiss the requirement as an administrative nuisance rather than an ethical choice.9
The Army is failing to make effective use...