Loosening the soil: how 360 feedback creates an internal ecosystem

There is a moment in a coaching engagement when something quietly shifts.

Not inside the room, but around it. The people in the coachee's environment start to see things differently. They begin to feel a sense of shared responsibility for their colleague's success. They are no longer observers. They have become part of the process.

That is precisely what I set out to create with my approach to 360-degree feedback for executives.

How it works

We begin with the Hogan Full Suite, one of the most robust assessment instruments available for senior leaders. It reveals how someone performs under pressure, what drives them, and which values shape the way they work.

As one of my coachees once put it:

It felt like my brain had been through an X-ray machine. And that machine was you.

In an extended debrief session, we explore the results together: what resonates, what surprises you, and what you want to do with what you have learned.

From there, we continue with coaching sessions. In parallel, I conduct conversations with 5 or 6 key stakeholders in the coachee's immediate environment. Not a standard 360 questionnaire. Instead, a series of focused interviews in a feedforward format. The question is not: what went wrong? It is: What do you need from this leader to succeed together?

That subtle shift in framing makes an enormous difference. The stakeholders are no longer looking back. They are looking forward. They articulate what they need. And in doing so, they become invested in the coachee's growth. They are no longer evaluators. They have become allies.

The ecosystem around the leader

I sometimes use the image of loosening the soil around a tree. When you break up the soil around the roots, the tree gets more air and more water. It can root more deeply, grow more freely. And the plants and creatures around it benefit too. The whole system breathes better.

That is what happens when you actively involve a leader's environment in their development. The coachee no longer stands alone in the process. An internal ecosystem takes shape: people who understand what is at stake, who have reflected on their own role, and who are willing to move with the change.

Coaching is no longer something an individual does in a room with a coach. It becomes something a system does together.

Who this is for

This way of working is for leaders who are ready to take a serious step in their development. Who want to understand not only how they see themselves, but how they are seen. And who are willing to hold those two images side by side and act on what they find.

It takes courage. But it produces insight that no training programme, no book, and no feedback form can give you.

Curious whether this fits where you are right now? You are welcome to a no-obligation introductory conversation.

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Sonja Wekema is an executive coach and founder of Executive Coaching Den Haag. She works with Hogan Assessments, Insights Discovery, and Barrett Values methodologies.