Gone are the days of long sheets of feedback!! People eager to taste success always show great amount of interest in powerful ideas or suggestions which help them to achieve their goals. Anyone would like to adopt positive change in behaviours when managers or colleagues share empowering messages without annihilating the self-image of the individual.
As Marshall Goldsmith says, “We can change the future, we can’t change the past. Powerful feedforwards help people envision and focus on the positive future, not a failed past.” Effective feedforwards can’t be delivered with the thought process of “let me prove you were wrong.” These conversations need to root out from a genuine effort to focus on solutions and enhance the positive self-image. I have experimented with feedforwards couple of times and has seen powerful transformation in people. It certainly enhances their self-awareness and improves personal effectiveness. In these conversations, I always focus on the performance and not the person – that’s the key to the success of it! When you tell your team member about something that has not yet happened and its impact on the organization, teams and business outcomes, without making any personal critiques – it immediately drives a long lasting change in the behaviour and results. Truly committed and successful people have their sense of identity highly associated to their work domain. They generally don’t get complacent when it comes to changing perceptions!
Feedforwards are not to be delivered through the prism of judgement or by assuming the power or authority. It’s just like helping your fellow traveller with elements in the road map which are unclear to him/her. In my experience, people take feedforwards seriously and change with a sense of urgency. Try it next time…it really works!!
