360 Feedback Questions: 100 Examples by Competency

Most 360 feedback questionnaires are written by committee and it shows: 90 vague statements, rater fatigue by item 30, and a report nobody acts on. The bank below is 100 questions organized by competency, built to be stolen from. Take 60 to 80, not all 100. The research on survey design is clear that 8 to 12 competencies with 60 to 80 behavior statements is the ceiling before answer quality drops.

Compiled by Andreas Pettersson, founder of Leaders ADAPT and former Canon AI CEO.

The 10 Most Useful 360 Feedback Questions

If your survey could only hold ten items, these ten predict the most about how someone actually leads. Rate each on a 1 to 5 agreement scale.

1. This person communicates decisions and the reasoning behind them, not just the decision.
2. This person follows through on commitments without needing reminders.
3. This person asks for input before making decisions that affect others.
4. This person stays composed and constructive under pressure.
5. This person gives feedback that is specific enough to act on.
6. This person delegates meaningful work, not just tasks they dislike.
7. This person admits mistakes openly and corrects course quickly.
8. This person removes obstacles instead of adding process.
9. This person treats people the same regardless of their status or usefulness.
10. I would choose to work for or with this person again.

10 Leadership Questions

1. This person sets a direction that is clear enough to act on without daily guidance.
2. This person makes priorities explicit when everything feels urgent.
3. This person takes ownership of outcomes rather than assigning blame.
4. This person makes decisions at the pace the situation requires.
5. This person stands up for the team when it costs them something.
6. This person models the standards they expect of others.
7. This person balances short-term results against long-term health of the team.
8. This person creates clarity in ambiguous situations rather than passing ambiguity down.
9. This person inspires people to raise their own bar.
10. This person is someone people go to when something important breaks.

10 Communication Questions

1. This person explains complex topics in a way that different audiences understand.
2. This person listens to understand rather than to reply.
3. This person shares information proactively instead of on request.
4. This person keeps people informed about decisions that affect their work.
5. This person invites disagreement and makes it safe to voice.
6. This person communicates the same message consistently across audiences.
7. This person is direct without being harsh.
8. This person asks questions that improve the quality of the discussion.
9. This person adjusts their communication when the first attempt does not land.
10. This person runs meetings that are worth the time they take.

10 Collaboration and Teamwork Questions

1. This person shares credit accurately, including with quiet contributors.
2. This person helps other teams succeed even when there is nothing in it for them.
3. This person resolves conflicts directly with the person involved, not around them.
4. This person builds relationships across functions before they need them.
5. This person contributes to discussions outside their formal area.
6. This person treats disagreement as a route to a better answer, not a threat.
7. This person does their share of the unglamorous work.
8. This person keeps commitments to peers with the same seriousness as commitments to superiors.
9. This person creates an environment where people help each other by default.
10. This person handles handoffs so the receiving side can succeed.

8 Strategic Thinking Questions

1. This person connects daily work to where the organization is going.
2. This person anticipates problems before they become urgent.
3. This person distinguishes between what is important and what is merely loud.
4. This person considers second-order effects before acting.
5. This person kills initiatives that no longer make sense, even their own.
6. This person brings outside perspective into internal decisions.
7. This person makes trade-offs explicit instead of pretending everything fits.
8. This person plans for what could go wrong, not just for what should go right.

8 Decision Making Questions

1. This person makes decisions with incomplete information when waiting costs more.
2. This person gathers the right inputs without letting consultation become delay.
3. This person explains which decisions are open for debate and which are closed.
4. This person keeps decisions made, so the team is not relitigating them weekly.
5. This person separates reversible decisions from irreversible ones and moves accordingly.
6. This person owns the results of their decisions, good and bad.
7. This person changes their mind when the evidence changes, and says so.
8. This person makes decisions based on data and principle, not on who argued loudest.

10 Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness Questions

1. This person is aware of how their mood affects the room.
2. This person handles criticism without punishing the messenger.
3. This person notices when someone is struggling before being told.
4. This person stays respectful in disagreement, even under stress.
5. This person knows their own weaknesses and manages around them.
6. This person apologizes specifically, not generically.
7. This person reads the moment and adjusts, rather than running the script.
8. This person keeps confidences.
9. This person responds to bad news in a way that keeps information flowing to them.
10. This person recovers from setbacks without spreading the damage.

8 Delegation and Empowerment Questions

1. This person delegates outcomes with real authority, not tasks with strings attached.
2. This person matches assignments to people's growth, not just to their current skill.
3. This person stays available without hovering.
4. This person lets people solve problems their own way when the outcome allows it.
5. This person accepts that a delegated task may be done differently than they would do it.
6. This person intervenes when needed, and only when needed.
7. This person gives people room to fail safely on the way to competence.
8. This person builds the team's capability rather than its dependence on them.

8 Coaching and Development Questions

1. This person gives feedback promptly, while it can still change the outcome.
2. This person balances challenge and support in the right proportions for each person.
3. This person invests time in developing people who cannot help their career.
4. This person asks questions that make people think, rather than supplying answers.
5. This person notices and names what people do well, specifically.
6. This person has career conversations that go beyond the next role.
7. This person creates stretch opportunities, not just stretch expectations.
8. People grow noticeably under this person's leadership.

8 Accountability and Execution Questions

1. This person sets expectations that are clear before the work starts, not after it disappoints.
2. This person addresses underperformance directly and early.
3. This person applies standards consistently, including to their favorites.
4. This person finishes what they start or explicitly renegotiates.
5. This person escalates risks early instead of hoping.
6. This person holds themselves to deadlines they set for others.
7. This person keeps quality up when nobody is checking.
8. This person confronts problems at their size, before they grow.

8 Adaptability and Change Questions

1. This person responds to change by adjusting the plan, not by defending it.
2. This person helps others navigate change instead of just announcing it.
3. This person experiments with new approaches before being forced to.
4. This person stays effective when priorities shift mid-stream.
5. This person separates what must stay stable from what can change.
6. This person learns new tools and methods at the pace the role requires.
7. This person treats setbacks as information rather than injustice.
8. This person keeps the team focused during uncertainty rather than amplifying it.

12 Open-Ended 360 Feedback Questions

Use two or three of these at the end of the survey, not all twelve. Each open question adds about two minutes of rater time, and answer quality falls with each one you add.

1. What should this person start doing?
2. What should this person stop doing?
3. What should this person continue doing?
4. What is this person's single biggest strength, and how does it show up?
5. What one change would most improve this person's effectiveness?
6. What does this person do that they are probably not aware of?
7. When have you seen this person at their best? Describe the situation.
8. What do you rely on this person for?
9. What advice would you give this person if they asked you directly?
10. What would make you give this person more responsibility?
11. How does this person affect your motivation to do your best work?
12. Is there anything else this person should hear?

How to Choose Questions From This Bank

Pick 8 to 12 competencies that match what the role actually demands, then take 6 to 8 statements per competency, which lands you in the research-backed range of 60 to 80 items. Every statement must describe observable behavior a rater has actually seen, which is why each question above starts with "this person" and a verb. Rate on a 5 point agreement scale, add a "not observed" option so raters are never forced to guess, and close with two or three open-ended questions. Resist the urge to add items nobody will act on; the survey is a promise that someone reads the answers.

How to Run the Process So the Answers Matter

Collect from 8 to 15 raters with a minimum of 3 per rater group so anonymity holds. Keep the results developmental: the meta-analytic evidence shows development-only programs produce roughly three times the improvement of programs tied to pay or promotion. And plan the follow-up before the survey goes out, because recipients who get coaching and set goals rate the process effective 94 percent of the time, against 34 percent for those handed a report and nothing else. The full numbers behind these design choices are in our 360 degree feedback statistics, and the process itself is covered step by step in the practical guide to 360 degree leadership assessments.

If you are choosing questions for your own development rather than a team process, start by finding out where you stand: take our leadership assessment, or grab the free leadership self-assessment PDF. For the craft of delivering what the answers reveal, read the art of effective feedback.

Frequently Asked, Quickly Answered

How many questions should a 360 feedback survey have?

60 to 80 rating statements across 8 to 12 competencies, plus 2 or 3 open-ended questions. Below 40 items the competency scores get unreliable; above 80, rater fatigue degrades every answer after the midpoint.

What makes a good 360 feedback question?

It describes one observable behavior, names no traits, and can be answered by someone who has worked with the person. "Communicates decisions and the reasoning behind them" works; "is a good communicator" does not, because it asks the rater to judge character instead of reporting behavior.

Should 360 feedback questions be anonymous?

Rating questions, yes, with at least 3 raters per group so no answer is traceable. Be aware of the tension in the data: 62 percent of employees say anonymity encourages honesty, while 28 percent say it produces vague criticism and 79 percent suspect some colleagues of grudge ratings. Anonymity plus a skilled debrief beats either alone.

What are the best open-ended 360 questions?

Start, stop, continue remains the most actionable trio. Add "what one change would most improve this person's effectiveness" when you want raters to prioritize instead of listing.