Forward Looking Feedback is Best

I strongly believe that feedback is an essential skill for leadership teams to master on their journeys to be great. But it was a recent discussion with my partner Gil that clarified what good feedback should really look like. There is no doubt that the best leadership teams we work with hold each other accountable and this naturally requires them to give each other feedback on what's working and what's not. The magic to great feedback rests on how it is focused. 'Past-focused' feedback is used most often and is necessary for helping team members reinforce what they are doing well and understanding what they need to change. Traditional feedback is limited, however, as it focuses on what's already transpired and tends to be hard to deliver and harder yet to receive.

The most effective form of feedback is what Marshall Goldsmith calls 'feedforward' where the individual providing feedback is helping to establish or reestablish expectations for the future. Feedforward helps team members focus on a positive future, not a failed past. It also tends to be more productive in that helps team members learn what 'right' looks like rather than prove that they are 'wrong.' Feedforward covers almost all of the same ground as feedback but rather than reliving the past it helps team members prepare for how to move forward in the future. To be clear, feedback plays an important role on effective leadership teams - to realize their full potential leadership teams must learn from mistakes and challenges. However, in their day to day interactions with each other feedforward is a much more productive vehicle.