The Portrait Series · episode 1
After the report
The 360 that does not end when the PDF lands
A boutique coaching practice has just closed a partner 360. The report is clear. The question is what happens on Tuesday morning.
Composite scenario. Fictional organisation, realistic numbers. Not a client case study.
Walkthrough
The assessment tools in this category already do the first half well. The work that usually leaves the platform is the second half.
The report arrives
Twelve raters. Overall 3.7. Self 4.4. The last page of a typical 360 is a blank development-plan template.
- The coach has a PDF and a calendar slot. Nothing in the file tracks whether a goal was set.
- Spidergap is honest about this: the plan is a template in the report, not a workflow.
The ninety minutes
Start with the gap: self 4.4 on 'develops others', associates 2.9. That is the session. The mean is a courtesy slide.
- Quotes without attribution, above the anonymity threshold, are what the partner can recognise.
A plan that stays in the portal
One GROW goal, 90 days, saved against the report, visible to the coach without a chase email.
- A template on page 18 of a PDF cannot do this.
Three insights
The PDF is showing your working
Clients pay for a leader who does one thing differently on Thursday. If the artefact cannot hold the goal and the date of wave 2, it was a report, not an engagement.
Start with the gap, not the mean
Self 4.4 / others 2.9 on one behaviour is the session. The overall 3.7 is a courtesy slide.
Spidergap is not the enemy of this work
It is the best-known tool for getting a sound 360 done. The honest split is assessment simplicity versus a development workflow the practice still runs.
90-minute agenda
A ready-to-run session. Keep the decision and the dated next step.
Contract the hour
Agree what this is not. Today's focus: the ninety minutes after the file arrives.
Walk the artefact
Read the relevant report or questionnaire out loud. Do not interpret yet.
The decision
One behaviour, one hole, or one language change. Write it down.
Save it where the work lives
Portal, instrument note, or calendar — not a notebook.
Date the follow-up
Wave 2, the next review, or a 30-day check-in.
FAQ
- Is this a real client?
- No. The firm, the partner and the scores are a composite. The workflow is the product.
- Do I have to leave Spidergap to work this way?
- No. If the assessment is already done well, the question is only whether the development conversation has a home.
The fairest test is your own cycle, in your client's words.