How to develop Leadership Skills by using “FeedForward” developed by Marshall Goldsmith

I would like to share with you a simple and powerful tool, created by generous Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, #1 Leadership Coach. This tool is called „FeedForward.“ As I have used it and got value out of it, I would like to share my experience on using this tool and bring it to the attention of my connections. I hope that you and your teams can get value out of it too.

You can use it by coaching, team building or in retrospectives to develop leadership skills at any level.

We all know how feedback important is. No question. This tool is focusing on „future suggestions,“ hence FeedForward: it is not focusing on the past; it concentrates on the opportunities of the future. It creates options to choose.

In his article, „Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback,“ Dr. Marshall Goldsmith describes why and how to use it. It works like this: „In the exercise, participants are each asked to play two roles. In one role, they are asked provide feedforward —that is, to give someone else suggestions for the future and help as much as they can. In the second role, they are asked to accept feedforward—that is, to listen to the suggestions for the future and learn as much as they can. The exercise typically lasts for 10-15 minutes, and the average participant has 6-7 dialogue sessions.“

Here are the details on how you can apply it.

http://www.marshallgoldsmith.com/articles/try-feedforward-instead-feedback/

In my experience, people, who follow-up and show some discipline, they report progress by themselves and by the team.

Among the „Eleven Reasons to Try FeedForward“ (cf. link above). I see here one more reason using FeedForward: we may get to learn within 15-30 Minutes our „blind spots,“ which may be hindering us to grow and be more effective leaders.

Furthermore, during the process, we will be surrounded by people who would like to support us in mastering our „blind spots.“

Isn’t that a gift, a new type of enrichment?

What is your experience with developing leadership skills? Please share with me, as you learn from me, I learn from you.