Feedforward Improvement Loop
Turn stakeholder input into visible change through future-focused suggestions
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 99%
The Feedforward Improvement Loop makes behavioral change social, specific, and measurable. Begin by gathering confidential or direct input from the people affected by your behavior. Select one important behavior rather than trying to repair everything. Acknowledge what you learned, apologize where appropriate, and ask for ideas about what to do in the future instead of inviting another prosecution of the past. Listen, say thank you, and avoid critiquing suggestions or promising to apply all of them. Practise the chosen behavior, return to stakeholders at regular intervals, ask how you are doing, and measure improvement through their observations rather than your own intentions.
Origin
Goldsmith describes this as the core process used in his executive coaching: stakeholder feedback, one selected behavior, feedforward, repeated follow-up, and improvement judged by people around the leader.
Core principles
- 01Improvement is judged by important people around you, not by self-perception
- 02Future-focused ideas are more actionable than repeated criticism of the past
- 03Listening does not require promising to use every suggestion
- 04Regular follow-up makes change visible and accountable
How to run it
- 1
Collect stakeholder input
Ask direct reports, peers, managers, board members, family, or other relevant people how you could be better in your role.
Pro tip Use confidential feedback when hierarchy might suppress candor.
Watch out Do not rely only on your own assessment.
- 2
Select one behavior
Choose the most important observable behavior to improve. Tell stakeholders what you learned and what you intend to change.
Pro tip Pick a behavior the same stakeholders can see in normal interactions.
Watch out Trying to address every comment at once dilutes practice and measurement.
- 3
Ask for feedforward
Request practical ideas for acting better in the future rather than more analysis of past failures.
Pro tip Ask for one or two ideas from each person.
- 4
Receive without resistance
Listen, avoid judging the suggestion, and thank the contributor. Promise to consider the input, not to execute every idea.
Watch out Defending yourself teaches people to stop giving honest input.
- 5
Practise and follow up
Apply useful ideas and return to stakeholders regularly to ask how you are doing and what to try next.
Pro tip Use a fixed cadence, such as every two months, so follow-up is not forgotten.
- 6
Measure perceived change
Evaluate progress through stakeholder reports of observable improvement, not through effort or self-confidence alone.
Watch out Private effort is not the outcome if affected people experience no improvement.
In the wild
Goldsmith describes a leader who receives feedback that listening needs improvement. The leader thanks stakeholders, states the behavior to change, asks for future-focused ideas, practises, and later asks how the last two months have gone and what to do over the next two.
→ Stakeholders can observe, guide, and eventually judge the listening improvement.
Common mistakes
Critiquing every suggestion
Arguing with input turns a learning exchange into another attempt to prove superiority and discourages future candor.
Stopping after the first conversation
Without practice and follow-up, stakeholders see an announcement rather than lasting behavior change.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leaders changing an interpersonal behavior that colleagues can directly observe.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for confidential technical work or outcomes that stakeholders cannot observe reliably.
From the transcript
“then listen to what people have to say again don't promise to do everything they say just promise to listen and think about it pick…”
“they practice and feed forward they don't ask for more feedback about the past ideas for the future they don't critique the ideas they shut…”
“then we measure improvement and again the people who do this stuff tend to get better people that don't don't”
From the episode
YAPClassic: Dr. Marshall Goldsmith on Becoming a Better Leader
YAPClassic