Feedforward
Feedforward
What is feedforward?
- Suggestions for the future, not a review of the past
- Pick one behavior and ask for two suggestions
- Problems that need facts spelled out: feedback first
If you treat feedforward as 'feedback in a more pleasant wrapper,' it becomes an excuse to avoid hard messages. The difference between the two is not tone but the direction of time. Feedback addresses why the last presentation fell short; feedforward addresses what to try in the next one. The past cannot be changed, but the future can, so the strength of this approach is that the listener can skip the excuses and start thinking about action right away.
The process is simple. First, the person chooses one behavior they want to improve. One sentence is enough, such as 'I want to state conclusions more clearly in meetings.' Next, they ask the other person for two suggestions they could try going forward. The person making suggestions doesn’t refer to past examples. The listener doesn’t evaluate or rebut the suggestions, and simply says thank you. Each round takes two to three minutes, so you can also ask several colleagues in turn and collect their suggestions.
It works best in a few clear situations: the second half of a performance review when you discuss next year, before a project starts, and when you offer input to someone who is hard to give feedback to, such as a boss or senior colleague. Because you aren’t pointing out past mistakes, rank matters less. The more specific the suggestion, the more useful it is, so phrase it as an action, such as 'speak up once within the first five minutes of the meeting,' rather than 'be more proactive.' After receiving suggestions, pick one or two and write down when you will try them, so the conversation turns into action.
Where this goes wrong in practice is using feedforward to replace feedback. For issues where the facts must be stated plainly, such as repeated lateness, quality problems, or rule violations, you have to say what the problem was first. If you skip that and talk only about the future, the person leaves without even knowing there was a problem. Another common mistake is criticism disguised as a suggestion. "Next time, don’t show up unprepared like last time" is aimed at the past. A suggestion should take the form of an action: 'It would be good to try...'
Seungbin JeonAn instructor who draws on psychology expertise to support communication and leadership growth in organizations
John KimInstructor John Kim, author of B2B Marketing Design and CEO of Nanum Consulting| Category | Feedback | Feedforward |
|---|---|---|
| Direction of time | Past behavior | Future actions |
| How it’s phrased | Observed facts and their impact | Suggestions to try |
| Listener’s reaction | Explanations and defensiveness come up easily | Say thanks, then choose |
| Best-fit situations | When you need to state the problem clearly | For growth goals and next-step planning |
Leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith popularized this approach in his article “Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback.” Because the past can’t be changed but the future can, he recommended practicing an exchange of suggestions for the future. He also made clear that the point is not to get rid of feedback.
Consider a hypothetical case. Company A, an advertising agency with 140 employees, has a planning division of 6 team leads and 38 team members. In a survey after last year’s review meetings, only 34% said the meetings were helpful, and most of the meeting time went to debating who was right or wrong on past projects.
- A division head proposes that six team leads use the last 20 minutes of each one-on-one for feedforward. When one team lead asks, "Will anything change if we don’t point out problems?", the division head explains the sequence: criticism is finished in the first half.
- In the first half of the one-on-one, the lead of Planning Team 1 states plainly why two competitive proposals were lost this year. In the second half, the lead asks the team member to choose one behavior to improve next year.
- The team member writes, "I want to state my key proposal within the first three minutes of a presentation." The team lead says nothing about past presentations and offers just two suggestions worth trying.
- The suggestions are 'put a one-sentence conclusion on the first slide' and 'run a rehearsal in front of one colleague.' The team member doesn’t argue. They simply reply, "Thank you."
- The team member agrees to apply both suggestions to next month’s presentation and writes down the date. At the team meeting, they ask four colleagues for suggestions in the same way, two minutes each.
- In the survey after the next round of one-on-ones, 'helpful' responses rise from 34% to 72%. Of the 61 action commitments written down by 38 team members, 44 are carried out within three months.