Connected Leadership at Scale: How Conversant Delivers Customized 360 Feedback

Developing Connected Leaders

Organizations invest heavily in leadership development — but how do they make sure that effort actually improves the way teams work together?

For over 30 years, Conversant has been answering that question.

As a communication and leadership development company, Conversant partners with organizations to strengthen executive teams, develop emerging leaders, and unlock what they call Connected Leadership: the ability to bring the intelligence of a group together to achieve meaningful results.

Many of those leadership engagements include 360-degree feedback, which provides leaders with candid insights from colleagues, teams, and stakeholders.

But delivering that feedback well — customized to each client, consistent across engagements, and built on trust — requires the right infrastructure behind the scenes.

This is the story of how Conversant and SurveyConnect work together to make it happen.

Supporting Customized Leadership Engagements

Conversant’s work is built on the idea that no two organizations communicate the same way.

Katie Mingo, a Consultant, Coach, and Facilitator at Conversant, sees this firsthand. She works with leaders all over the world to help them create more value, get unstuck, and reduce stress and friction in modern work.

Every engagement she runs looks different — because every organization is different.

“We recognize every organization is unique, every team is unique, and we want to build what we’re doing in a way that works with that,” said Katie.

That commitment to customization creates a real operational challenge. One tailored engagement is manageable. Running many (across industries, leadership levels, and timelines) gets progressively harder.

“We also want to make our work cost effective. We want to be able to scale,” she said.

Before working with SurveyConnect, Conversant had experience using a large enterprise survey platform. While powerful, it didn’t align with the customized, relationship-driven way Conversant works with clients.

“It was less personal, less flexible,” said Katie. “There were a lot of options, but it didn’t feel as human.”

Conversant needed a platform that could flex with them — adjusting competencies, rater language, branding, and structure without sacrificing confidentiality.

SurveyConnect gave them exactly that: a system that could adapt to each client while keeping the survey process consistent and reliable.

“I love bringing groups together that think they have nothing in common and finding shared paths forward. People who think ‘there’s no way I could get along with’ sales, or legal, or whatever team it is. And finding ways that they actually do have enough in common to collaborate.”

— Katie Mingo, Conversant

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A Partnership That Keeps Pace

Once the platform was in place, the partnership proved itself in day-to-day execution.

Leadership programs don’t always move on predictable timelines. Clients pause, executives shift schedules, or readiness changes.

“We’ll have periods where a team isn’t ready… and then as soon as they say go, SurveyConnect is ready to jump into action with us, so there’s never a lag,” Katie said.

That flexibility extended to the operational side, too. Conversant’s project managers gained direct access to monitor progress and pull reports on their own.

“You guys have made it really easy for us to go in and see what’s the status of different surveys or to export reports… we can run all that ourselves, which has been really nice.”

And when questions about survey design came up, SurveyConnect brought expertise there as well.

“SurveyConnect has been able to guide us… make sure we’re not asking double-barreled questions… those kind of survey hygiene things,” said Katie.

The Power of Strengths-Based Feedback

With the logistics running smoothly, Conversant could focus on what matters most: making sure the feedback itself supports growth.

Because Conversant’s methodology is strengths-based, the 360 process has to encourage development — not create fear. They spend time preparing participants to understand that feedback is about gaining a full view, not finding flaws.

“What I find most is that people read their reports and are surprised that it’s so positive… they’re not in tears at the end of it, and they have something to go and do.”

— Katie Mingo, Conversant

Anonymity plays a critical role in making that possible. By removing names and titles, the survey structure allows feedback to stand on its own merit.

“It strips out some of those power dynamics and assumptions,” said Katie.

For many leaders, that reassurance — knowing the process is confidential and the feedback is constructive — makes it easier to engage openly.

“It’s really given our clients a lot of confidence… that even though they’re embarking on something that feels sort of scary, it’s all going to turn out okay with SurveyConnect’s track history, our track history and relationships.”

A Partnership Built to Last

Conversant’s work centers on human interaction. Even in an era of AI and automation, they are intentional about preserving and enhancing connection.

SurveyConnect doesn’t replace Conversant’s coaching or facilitation — it strengthens it, providing the infrastructure that allows them to deliver customized, strengths-based feedback at scale.

“You guys really bring that out in a way that’s something we care a lot about too,” said Katie.

It’s a dynamic that’s held up over time — Katie first worked with SurveyConnect in 2018, though the relationship goes back even further than that.

Over the years, Conversant and SurveyConnect have continued to support thoughtful, customized leadership development together.

Here at SurveyConnect, we’re proud to play a small role in the important work Conversant does with leaders around the world. We wish Katie and the teams at Conversant all the best as they continue their mission.

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Key Takeaways: Lessons for Scaling Strengths-Based 360 Feedback

• Trust drives participation and usable insight. Clear anonymity safeguards and thoughtful survey structure reduce power dynamics and second-guessing, allowing leaders to focus on the substance of the feedback rather than who provided it.
• Strengths-based feedback increases follow-through. When leaders receive balanced input—not just critique—they are more likely to leave the process motivated, clear on next steps, and ready to act.
• Customization and scale can work together. Conversant tailors each survey to the client while SurveyConnect handles survey administration behind the scenes.

For organizations seeking to develop stronger leaders through conversation and feedback, SurveyConnect and Conversant offer a proven, flexible solution. Discover how SurveyConnect can support your leadership goals.