Power Of Feedforward

Having a journey partner can bring about a transformational change in your career.

- Joe Hirsch

You may not like getting feedback, but you cannot deny its importance. Receiving robust feedback—even when it is negative in nature—is a key driver of performance and leadership effectiveness. And when people ask for feedback, they are generally seen as more effective by their superiors and peers.

There is just one problem: most of the time, feedback is hierarchical. One person (usually, the manager) holds the power and directs the process while the other (generally, the employee) takes cues from the top. When feedback becomes a power play, people recoil. They get defensive, angry, and self-conscious. They may even try to find new social networks that offer more positive affirmation of who they think they are.

Instead of relying on top-down feedback for insights, try approaching performance in a whole new way: a partnership. Draw on the power and principles of ‘feedforward’—a partnership approach that can transform the way you think about the whole enterprise of performance reviews. In it, instead of relegating power to someone else, you take control of that process yourself and help others along the way, too.

Find someone you trust and respect and forge a performance partnership with that person. Your joint mission: help one another navigate the long and sometimes twisted road of personal and professional improvement.