360° feedback
The 100 best 360-degree feedback questions (with examples by role)
A bank of 100 example 360-degree feedback questions, grouped by competency and by rater, with guidance on writing good items, choosing between rating scales and open text, and the mistakes that make a 360 unusable.
By the CLEAR Talent team15 min read
Key takeaways
- Ask about one observable behaviour per question, and only ask raters about what they can actually see.
- Pick three to five competencies that matter for the role and a handful of items from each. A shorter 360 gets more thoughtful answers.
- Write rating items as behavioural statements and open-text items as questions that invite an example.
- Give every rating scale a “not observed” option, so raters do not guess.
- Keep a small number of open-text questions and make each one ask for something specific: a strength to keep, a change to make, an example.
A 360-degree review is only as good as the questions in it. Ask raters something they cannot see, word it so only one answer feels acceptable, or bury them in fifty near-identical items, and the report that comes back will be polite, vague and impossible to act on — however good the software or the intentions behind it.
This guide starts with how to write a good 360 question, then gives you 100 examples to adapt: sixty grouped by competency (leadership, communication, collaboration, decision-making and adaptability) and forty written for a specific rater — the manager, peers, direct reports and the employee themselves. It finishes with when to use a rating scale and when to use open text, and the mistakes that most often undermine a 360. The questions are starting points, not a validated instrument: rewrite them in your organisation’s language and trim hard.
How to write good 360 feedback questions
Most weak 360 questionnaires fail in the same few ways. These principles apply to every question in the bank below — use them to edit the examples as much as to write your own.
- One behaviour per question
- “Communicates clearly and listens well” is two questions. A rater who sees one but not the other has no honest answer. Split double-barrelled items, even if it makes the list longer, then cut elsewhere.
- Describe behaviour, not personality
- “Is confident” asks for a judgement about character. “Puts forward a clear recommendation in meetings” describes something a colleague has seen. Behavioural items are easier to rate consistently and easier to act on.
- Only ask what the rater can observe
- Peers rarely see how someone coaches their team; direct reports rarely see how they manage senior stakeholders. Match questions to rater groups, and let raters say “not observed” instead of guessing.
- Keep the wording neutral
- Avoid leading phrasing (“How well does she inspire the team?”) and loaded words (“always”, “never”). The question should make a low rating as easy to give as a high one.
- Tie questions to the competencies you already use
- If your organisation has a competency framework, write 360 items against it. Feedback that maps to the same competencies as reviews and development plans can be compared over time and acted on; feedback on a separate list tends to sit in a separate file.
- Keep it short
- Rater fatigue shows up as straight-line ratings and empty comment boxes. Choose the competencies that matter most for the role rather than covering everything, and remove any item that would not change a development conversation.
If a rater could not point to a specific moment that justifies their answer, the question is asking for an impression, not feedback.
360 feedback questions by competency
Sixty examples across five competencies that appear in most frameworks. Each block mixes behavioural statements for a rating scale with a few open-text questions. The “Best asked of” column suggests which raters are most likely to have seen the behaviour — adjust it to how work is organised in your teams.
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360 feedback question bank by competency
Rating items are written as statements to rate on a scale; open-text items are questions to answer in the rater’s own words.
| Question | Format | Best asked of |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership | ||
| Sets clear priorities so the team knows what matters most. | Rating | All raters |
| Explains the reasoning behind decisions, not just the decision. | Rating | All raters |
| Gives feedback that is specific enough to act on. | Rating | Direct reports |
| Makes time to develop the people in their team. | Rating | Direct reports, manager |
| Takes responsibility when things go wrong rather than looking for someone to blame. | Rating | All raters |
| Delegates work with enough context and authority for it to be done well. | Rating | Direct reports |
| Recognises good work specifically and fairly. | Rating | All raters |
| Represents the team’s work and needs effectively to senior stakeholders. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Holds themselves to the standards they expect of others. | Rating | All raters |
| What is one thing this person does as a leader that you would want them to keep doing? | Open text | All raters |
| What is one change that would make this person a more effective leader? | Open text | All raters |
| Describe a recent situation where this person’s leadership made a noticeable difference, positive or negative. | Open text | All raters |
| Communication | ||
| Communicates clearly and concisely in writing. | Rating | All raters |
| Communicates clearly when speaking to a group. | Rating | All raters |
| Listens to understand before responding. | Rating | All raters |
| Adapts the message to the audience. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Shares information others need without having to be asked. | Rating | Peers, direct reports |
| Raises concerns early and directly, rather than letting them build. | Rating | All raters |
| Handles disagreement respectfully, even when views are strongly held. | Rating | All raters |
| Keeps stakeholders informed about progress and changes to plans. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Asks questions that open up a discussion rather than close it down. | Rating | All raters |
| When has this person’s communication made your work easier? | Open text | All raters |
| What, if anything, do you find hard to understand or act on when this person communicates? | Open text | All raters |
| What should this person communicate more of, or less of? | Open text | All raters |
| Collaboration | ||
| Follows through on commitments made to colleagues. | Rating | Peers |
| Offers help to colleagues without being asked. | Rating | Peers |
| Shares credit for joint work. | Rating | All raters |
| Works effectively with people outside their own team. | Rating | Peers, cross-functional stakeholders |
| Is open to ideas that differ from their own. | Rating | All raters |
| Resolves conflict constructively rather than avoiding it. | Rating | All raters |
| Asks for input from the people a piece of work will affect. | Rating | Peers, direct reports |
| Puts the team’s goals ahead of personal credit when the two conflict. | Rating | All raters |
| Is someone colleagues would choose to work with on a difficult project. | Rating | Peers |
| What does this person do that makes working with them easier? | Open text | Peers |
| What does this person do that makes working with them harder? | Open text | Peers |
| How could this person contribute more to the wider team? | Open text | All raters |
| Decision-making | ||
| Makes decisions in good time, without waiting for certainty that will not come. | Rating | All raters |
| Gathers the information a decision needs — no more, no less. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Considers the impact on other teams before deciding. | Rating | Peers |
| Involves the right people in decisions that affect them. | Rating | All raters |
| Explains the trade-offs behind a decision. | Rating | All raters |
| Changes course when new evidence shows a decision was wrong. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Makes sound judgements when information is incomplete. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Supports a decision once it is made, including ones they argued against. | Rating | All raters |
| Escalates the decisions that should be escalated, and takes the ones that should not. | Rating | Manager |
| Describe a decision this person made recently that you thought was well handled, and why. | Open text | All raters |
| Is there a kind of decision this person tends to avoid or delay? What effect does that have? | Open text | Manager, peers |
| What would help this person make better decisions? | Open text | All raters |
| Adaptability | ||
| Stays effective when priorities change at short notice. | Rating | All raters |
| Learns new tools, processes or skills quickly. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| Responds constructively to feedback. | Rating | All raters |
| Stays calm under pressure and helps others stay focused. | Rating | All raters |
| Looks for better ways of working rather than defending the current one. | Rating | All raters |
| Adjusts their approach to fit the person or the situation. | Rating | All raters |
| Helps others through change rather than simply announcing it. | Rating | Direct reports |
| Recovers quickly from setbacks and focuses on what to do next. | Rating | All raters |
| Is willing to take on unfamiliar work to help the team. | Rating | Manager, peers |
| How did this person respond to the most recent significant change in your team? | Open text | All raters |
| Where would more flexibility make this person more effective? | Open text | All raters |
| What is one new skill or habit that would help this person most in the year ahead? | Open text | All raters |
These are examples to adapt, not a validated assessment. Select the table to paste it into a spreadsheet, or download it below.
You will not use all sixty. For most roles, three to five competencies and a handful of items from each is plenty — a questionnaire raters can finish thoughtfully in one sitting produces better feedback than a complete one they rush.
Questions for the manager
The manager usually has the widest view of results and the clearest sense of what the role requires, but sees less of day-to-day collaboration than peers do. Their questions should anchor the 360 in outcomes and in development: what the person has delivered, what would most improve their performance and what support the manager will provide.
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Manager feedback questions
| Question | Format |
|---|---|
| Manager | |
| Delivers work to the agreed standard and timescale. | Rating |
| Sets goals that stretch them and keeps progress on them visible. | Rating |
| Acts on feedback and coaching between reviews. | Rating |
| Takes on responsibility beyond the core of the role. | Rating |
| Manages their own workload and flags risks early. | Rating |
| Builds effective working relationships with stakeholders. | Rating |
| What has been this person’s most significant contribution this period? | Open text |
| Which one or two capabilities would most improve their performance in their current role? | Open text |
| What would they need to demonstrate to be ready for a bigger role? | Open text |
| What support from you would help them most over the next period? | Open text |
The last question matters most. A manager who names their own part in the development plan is far more likely to follow through on it.
Peer feedback questions
Peers see reliability, generosity with knowledge and behaviour under pressure — the things that rarely surface in a one-to-one with a manager. Good peer feedback questions stay on that ground, and avoid asking peers to judge performance against goals they may not know.
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Peer feedback questions
| Question | Format |
|---|---|
| Peer | |
| Is reliable: when they say something will be done, it is done. | Rating |
| Shares knowledge that helps others do their jobs. | Rating |
| Gives colleagues honest, useful feedback. | Rating |
| Treats colleagues with respect, including under pressure. | Rating |
| Is responsive when their input is needed. | Rating |
| Contributes their fair share to joint work. | Rating |
| What is the most helpful thing this person does for you or the team? | Open text |
| What is one thing they could do differently that would make working with them better? | Open text |
| What strengths does this person have that others might overlook? | Open text |
| If you could ask this person to start doing one thing, what would it be? | Open text |
Choose peers who work with the person often enough to have seen the behaviours in question — not simply the colleagues they get on with best. Nomination by the employee with approval by the manager is a common way to balance the two.
Upward feedback questions for direct reports
Direct reports are the only raters who experience someone’s management first-hand, which makes upward feedback the most valuable part of a manager’s 360 and the most sensitive. Write items in the first person, so each rater answers from their own experience rather than guessing about the team’s.
Anonymity carries most of the weight here. In a small team, a set of responses can identify the person who wrote them, so decide on a minimum number of responses before a group’s results are shown — and tell raters what that threshold is before they start.
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Upward feedback questions
| Question | Format |
|---|---|
| Direct report | |
| My manager is clear about what is expected of me. | Rating |
| My manager gives me regular, useful feedback on my work. | Rating |
| My manager supports my development and career goals. | Rating |
| My manager is available when I need help. | Rating |
| I feel able to raise concerns with, or disagree with, my manager. | Rating |
| My manager treats everyone in the team fairly. | Rating |
| My manager removes obstacles that slow the team down. | Rating |
| What does your manager do that helps you do your best work? | Open text |
| What could your manager do differently to support you better? | Open text |
| What should your manager keep doing, whatever else changes? | Open text |
Self-assessment questions
The self-assessment is not there to be scored against everyone else. Its value is in the comparison: where someone rates themselves well above or below how others see them is often where the most useful development conversation starts. Use the same rating items as the other raters where you can, then add a few reflective questions like these.
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Self-assessment questions
| Question | Format |
|---|---|
| Self | |
| I understand what is expected of me in my role. | Rating |
| I ask for feedback, rather than waiting for it. | Rating |
| I have made progress on my development goals this period. | Rating |
| I manage my time and priorities effectively. | Rating |
| I contribute to the team beyond my own tasks. | Rating |
| What are you most proud of from this period? | Open text |
| Where did you fall short of what you intended, and why? | Open text |
| Which of your strengths do you think others underestimate? | Open text |
| What would you most like feedback on in this 360? | Open text |
| What support would help you most in the next period? | Open text |
Rating scale or open text?
Use both, for different jobs. Ratings make feedback comparable across raters and over time; open text explains what the ratings mean and gives the employee something concrete to act on.
- Use a rating scale for behaviours you want to compare
- Ratings show patterns: how different rater groups see the same behaviour, and whether it changes from one 360 to the next. Write each item as a statement and keep the scale identical across the whole questionnaire.
- Anchor the scale in frequency or behaviour, not adjectives
- A frequency scale (“rarely” to “consistently”) is easier to apply than “poor” to “excellent”, because it asks what the rater has seen rather than what they think. If your competency framework already has behavioural levels, rate against those instead.
- Always include “not observed”
- Without it, a rater who has not seen the behaviour picks the middle of the scale, and the average quietly drifts towards neutral. “Not observed” is useful data in its own right.
- Use open text sparingly and specifically
- Two or three open-text questions per rater is usually enough. “Any other comments?” invites nothing; “What is one thing this person should keep doing?” invites an answer the employee can use.
- Ask for examples
- Prompts such as “Describe a recent situation where…” produce feedback tied to real events, which is easier to accept and harder to dismiss than a general impression.
- Remind raters who will read the comments
- Even when ratings are aggregated, distinctive phrasing can identify the writer. Tell raters how comments will be shown and encourage them to write about behaviour, not the person.
Common 360 feedback mistakes
- Too many questions
- A long questionnaire multiplied by every rater an employee nominates becomes a significant load across a team, and quality drops long before completion does.
- The same questions for every rater
- Asking peers about coaching or direct reports about board presentations forces guesses. Tailor the set to what each group can see.
- Promising anonymity you cannot deliver
- If a manager has two direct reports, “anonymous” upward feedback is not anonymous. Set minimum response numbers per group and be honest with raters about them.
- Using a 360 to decide pay or promotion without saying so
- Raters answer differently when they know feedback affects reward. Decide the purpose up front — development, evaluation or both — and tell everyone involved.
- Handing over the report without a conversation
- A 360 report read alone can feel like a verdict. Walk through it with the employee, focus on themes rather than individual comments, and agree two or three development priorities.
- No follow-up
- If nothing changes after a 360, raters notice and the next one gets less candid answers. Turn the priorities into development actions with owners and dates, and revisit them before the next cycle.
Running 360 feedback in CLEAR Talent
CLEAR Talent’s 360° feedback runs against your Competency Assessment Framework, so each rater scores a targeted set of competencies on a rating scale you control, with optional written evidence. Raters can include the manager, peers, direct reports and cross-functional stakeholders: employees nominate raters and managers approve them.
Responses are anonymised within each rater group and consolidated automatically, with minimum-rater thresholds enforced and outliers flagged, so managers see aggregated group data rather than who rated what. The report brings together strengths, blind spots and development priorities, and suggests an individual development plan based on the lowest-scoring, highest-importance competencies. A 360 can run on its own cadence — quarterly, after a project or at promotion — rather than only alongside an annual review.