Feedforward

Why It Matters

Traditional feedback focuses on what went wrong in the past. This triggers defensiveness because people cannot change what already happened. Feedforward shifts the conversation to the future: instead of "Here is what you did poorly," it asks "Here is what would make you more effective going forward." This reframe is not semantic. It changes the emotional dynamics of developmental conversations. People are more receptive to suggestions about future behavior because those suggestions carry no judgment about past failure.

The Original Framework

Marshall Goldsmith, one of the world's most recognized executive coaches, introduced feedforward as an alternative to traditional feedback. His core insight: asking people to help you improve going forward is more productive than asking them to evaluate your past. Goldsmith has tested this in exercises with thousands of leaders and consistently finds that feedforward conversations are rated as more helpful, more actionable, and more positive than equivalent feedback conversations.

How to Use It

Feedforward works best when it is specific, behavioral, and forward-looking. Instead of "Your presentation lacked structure" (backward-looking judgment), try "For your next presentation, consider opening with the key decision you need from the audience and organizing your points around that" (forward-looking, actionable). The distinction is subtle but powerful: one evaluates the person, the other equips them.

• Frame suggestions in terms of future actions, not past failures
• Focus on one or two specific behaviors the person can practice immediately
• Ask "What would help you be more effective?" rather than "What did you do wrong?"
• Combine with traditional feedback when reflection on past events is genuinely necessary

Source

Marshall Goldsmith, "Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback," Leader to Leader journal (2002).