Feedforward: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
When was the last time you heard your team members got excited, inspired, and motivated about the forthcoming feedback session?
After these sessions, how often have you noticed tangible changes in others' attitudes or behavior toward you and your peers?
If your answer to both these questions leans toward the negative, you're not alone.
Often, because of the sensitive nature of feedback, managers spend sleepless nights and weeks preparing for these sessions. Employees can end up feeling judged and challenged by the assessment of their competencies and performance, regardless of the time spent preparing the feedback to be objective and constructive.
Why is feedback hard to deliver and to hear?
Traditional feedback often fails to align to the reasons why people might be looking for feedback: their future development for success. Even when it is meant to be constructive, traditional feedback can inadvertently provoke defensiveness, hindering growth, trust, and commitment to a company.
Moreover, in cases where the source of feedback is anonymous and ambiguous, it forces the recipient to speculate about the need for change for a particular team or situation.
If you want to provide feedback that encourages future development, growth, and success, try Feedforward instead.
Feedforward is:
a proactive, future-oriented approach to leadership coaching and growth. It provides constructive guidance and actionable steps to help individuals move toward their aspirations rather than dwelling on past failures.
Feedforward emphasizes solutions for the future.
Feedforward’s goal is to steer individuals toward more productive behaviors and outcomes. This method reframes feedback by emphasizing future solutions and empowering those receiving it.
By shifting the focus from past mistakes to future possibilities, feedforward fosters a more constructive and solution-oriented dialogue.
Envision a workplace where managers are no longer burdened with the challenge of finding the perfect words to give employees constructive feedback on their past attitudes or behavior. Imagine an environment where employees are empowered to turn to a manager or colleagues at any time for insight or tips on how to improve their skills or excel in their roles. By moving beyond the limitations of scripted feedback sessions, we can focus our efforts on fostering growth and implementing long-lasting improvements.
This forward-looking approach cultivates receptiveness and openness among individuals, making them more willing to accept suggestions without feeling defensive or ashamed.
Compare a manager's feedback with an employee's requested feedforward on the same topic.
Manager provides feedback on listening skills - "During our last meeting, I noticed that you were checking your phone while others were speaking, which seemed to indicate that you weren't fully engaged in the conversation. We expect you to be more engaged and listen actively"
Feedforward request from the colleague - I would like to improve my listening skills. Could you give me a feedforward idea? - "For future meetings, you might try putting your phone away and summarizing what the other person has said to ensure you've understood their points. Another idea could be to ask clarifying questions that show you're interested and engaged in the dialogue."
Feedforward is the gift that sustains its value.
Marshall Goldsmith, renowned coaching expert and founder of stakeholder-centered coaching, which has empowered leaders globally to transition from feedback to feedforward, regards feedforward as a valuable gift.
We treat feedforward the same way we would treat any gift. First, we thank the giver for it and then choose whether and how to use it.
While asking for a gift in everyday life may seem disconnected from the professional realm, feedforward is proving to be one of the most reliable and powerful methods for cultivating impactful leadership and growing interpersonal skills in your employees, colleagues, and yourself. Watch Marshall's original feedforward story in this video to learn more.
The value of feedforward extends beyond the initial moment of receiving it.
Given once, in a positive and specific manner, and oriented for growth, feedforward can orient an individual towards professional growth - a feeling of satisfaction that remains useful long after it has been received.
Cultivating a feedforward mindset is a skill that every effective leader should have, and every executive team deserves to master.
You grow here. 🌱
Next week in FeedForwardFriday, the feedforward approach helped a first-time product owner practice her managerial skills, stand up for herself, and build a stronger relationship with a team and peers.
