The Feedback Loop Fallacy: Why You Need a 'Feedforward' Culture Instead
Picture the scene: the annual performance review. The air is thick with a familiar tension. You, the leader, are armed with a list of carefully documented "areas for improvement." Your employee is braced for impact, their defenses already on high alert. You deliver the feedback, and even when it's framed as constructive feedback, you can see the shutters come down. It’s a dance of anxiety and defensiveness that rarely leads to genuine inspiration or change.
For decades, we’ve been taught that this is how you improve performance. It’s "The Feedback Loop Fallacy"—the deeply ingrained belief that the best way to improve future performance is to meticulously critique the past. But what if this entire model is fundamentally flawed? What if there's a more effective, more empowering, and more brain-friendly alternative?
There is. It’s called "feedforward," and it’s a revolutionary approach to leadership communication skills that shifts the focus from the past you cannot change to the future you can create. This guide will explore the crucial difference of feedforward vs feedback and show you how to build a vibrant, positive feedback culture that truly inspires growth.
The Problem with Feedback: Why It Often Fails
Let's be honest: most feedback falls flat. The reason is simple psychology.
Feedback is, by its nature, about the past. It’s a critique of something that has already happened and cannot be altered. When a person receives feedback, their brain often perceives it as a social threat, triggering the same fight-or-flight response as a physical danger. Defensiveness kicks in, learning stops, and the conversation becomes about justification rather than improvement.
Furthermore, traditional feedback often places the leader in the role of a "judge," delivering a verdict on a past performance. This creates a hierarchical, often adversarial, dynamic. A great leader's role isn't to be a judge of the past, but a coach for the future.
What Is Feedforward? The Future-Focused Alternative
So, what is feedforward? The concept, popularized by renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, is brilliantly simple. It is future-oriented, solution-focused advice. It’s about providing ideas and suggestions for upcoming challenges and opportunities, rather than critiquing past actions.
The core difference is profound:
Feedback says: "Here is what you did wrong in your last presentation."
Feedforward says: "For your big presentation next month, here are a couple of ideas that could help you win."
Feedback is a post-mortem. Feedforward is a pre-game strategy session. One feels like a judgment; the other feels like a collaboration. This is the key to effective employee development strategies.
4 Steps to Giving Effective Feedforward
Learning how to give feedforward is a practice in shifting your perspective and your language. It transforms a potentially tense critique into one of the most valuable coaching conversations you can have.
1. Set the Stage: Ask for Permission
Unlike feedback, which is often imposed, feedforward is a gift offered collaboratively. The first step is to frame the conversation as a helpful brainstorming session, not a mandatory critique.
Script: "I was thinking about your upcoming project launch, and I have a couple of ideas that might be helpful as you prepare. Would you be open to hearing them?"
This simple question immediately lowers defenses and creates an atmosphere of mutual respect.
2. Focus on a Specific Future Goal
The power of feedforward lies in its direct connection to a future event or goal. This makes the advice immediately relevant and actionable.
Example:
Feedback: "You were too quiet in the last team meeting." (Past-focused, critical)
Feedforward: "For our big client meeting next week, let's brainstorm a couple of ways to ensure your valuable insights are heard." (Future-focused, collaborative) This approach is directly tied to goal setting and forward momentum.
3. Offer "One or Two Helpful Suggestions"
This is where you provide concrete, actionable ideas for the future. The key is to offer them as suggestions, not directives. Here are some feedforward examples:
Script: "For that client meeting next week, one thing that might be powerful is if you prepare one key, open-ended question to ask. Another idea could be to volunteer to lead the first 5 minutes of the discussion on your section of the project. What do you think of those ideas?"
This is a form of positive reinforcement, focusing on adding to their strengths rather than correcting their weaknesses.
Future-Focused
4. Release the Outcome: It's a Gift, Not a Command
This is the final, crucial step. Feedforward is offered as a gift, with no strings attached. The recipient is completely free to use the suggestions or discard them.
How to Frame It: End the conversation with a phrase like, "Just a couple of ideas to consider as you prepare. Feel free to use them if they're helpful!"
This releases the pressure and reinforces that you are their coach, not their micromanager. It empowers them to take ownership of their own development.
How Feedforward Builds Psychological Safety and a Growth Mindset
When you shift from feedback to feedforward, you are doing more than just changing your communication style; you are changing your team's entire culture.
A feedforward culture is one where people are not afraid to take risks because they know that any "failures" will be treated as learning opportunities for the future, not as mistakes to be punished. This builds the deep psychological safety that is essential for innovation and high team performance.
It naturally fosters a growth mindset, the belief that abilities can be developed. Instead of dwelling on fixed, past behaviors, the entire team becomes focused on future possibilities and continuous improvement. This is the essence of creating a positive feedback culture that is truly constructive.
Conclusion
Your primary role as a leader is not to be a critic of past performance, but a co-creator of future success. The feedback loop keeps you tethered to what has already happened. The feedforward conversation opens up a world of what is possible.
Your challenge this week is to find one opportunity to practice this. The next time you feel the urge to give constructive feedback about a past event, pause. Reframe it. Ask for permission, and offer one helpful suggestion for the future instead. You will be amazed at the difference it makes.
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