Forward Feedback: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Forward Feedback, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
About 2 minutes
Try it here: ask for ideas, not a verdict
Ask for ideas about the future instead of a judgment of the past. Practise the question here first.
Say it another way: ask for ideas about the future
Practices that may help
- Feedforward: Future-Focused Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials. - Ask for ideas about the future, not assessments of the past
Replace "how did I do?" with "what ideas do you have for how I could do better?"
Feedforward: Future-Focused Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior - Receive every suggestion with only "thank you"
Accept all feedforward without debate, justification, or even agreement — just acknowledge and note.
Feedforward: Future-Focused Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior - Feedback Loops and Behavior Change
Feedback loops are the mechanism by which information about the gap between current and desired performance reaches the actor and drives adjustment. Cybernetics established the theoretical foundation; decades of applied research confirm that self-monitoring and feedback are among the most robust behavior-change techniques — particularly for health behaviors. The key design questions are feedback frequency, the right metric, and the gap between signal and response. - Establish a no-argument rule in feedforward exchanges
In structured feedforward exchanges, neither party evaluates or debates the suggestions — only listens and notes.
Feedforward: Future-Focused Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior - Seek developmental feedback, not just performance feedback
Ask for feedback that challenges your assumptions about how you see, not just how you perform.
Kegan’s Subject-Object Theory, Made Practical - Use feedforward to align team members on goals before projects begin
At the start of a project, invite feedforward on how to succeed — before any performance to critique.
Feedforward: Future-Focused Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior - Choose the right moment and setting for feedback
Feedback lands in proportion to how safe and ready the receiver feels — timing and privacy matter.
The SBI Feedback Model, Made Practical - Give feedback in the moment, not stockpiled for reviews
Feedback accumulated for a periodic review arrives late and in bulk — neither helps.
The Feedback Sandwich: Why It Doesn’t Work and What to Do Instead - Receive feedback with minimal defensiveness
Treat feedback as data about others’ experience — not as a verdict on your character.
The Johari Window
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Whenever I ask how I’m doing, the answer comes back as a verdict on what I already screwed up, and I spend the whole conversation defending myself instead of actually learning anything I could use next time.
- The second someone suggests something, I’m already arguing back in my head
- Every time my partner and I try to swap ideas it slides into scoring points
- All the feedback I get is about whether I hit the target, and none of it touches the assumptions underneath how I’m even seeing the situation
- We’re about to kick off something new and everyone has private hunches about what it’ll take to pull off
Related concerns
- Feedforward Communication
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials.
- Feed Forward Feedback
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials.
- Feedforward
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials.
- Forward Thinking Feedback
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials.
- Developmental Feedback
Ask for feedback that challenges your assumptions about how you see, not just how you perform.
Seek developmental feedback, not just performance feedback
- Feed Forward Marshall Goldsmith
Feedforward, developed by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, replaces backward-looking critique with forward-looking suggestions — asking "what ideas do you have for the future?" rather than "what did I do wrong?" The core claim is that people are more receptive to ideas about what they could do than to judgments about what they did. Evidence is primarily clinical and practitioner-based rather than from controlled trials.
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