Give the gift of feed-forward
Corina Roobeck
With everything else going on in the world we might feel that we don't have time to stop and give feedback to each other or to debrief projects. The clock is ticking and we need to move even faster. Well, another view is that even in the world of fast iteration a reflection point is required - we call it “take time to make time”. What are we learning? What do we need to change up? And go again. The human in the equation deserves at least the same.
Maybe it's time to rename it. Can I give you some feed-forward, instead of feedback? If the focus is truly on helping the other person up their game for the next round then surely time investing in this activity is the right thing to do.
What are the benefits of this? Freeing attention, sharing perspectives, activating individual and collective learning, improving connection, leveraging best practices, releasing energy, and even preventing burn-out - all of which lead to more innovation, collaboration, motivation, performance, and team spirit. Hmmm… where is this on the priority list?
And yes, we can make the process easier, lighter, and faster. It doesn’t need to take forever.
Welcome in Fast Feed-Forward
A simple and results-driven process we use in The Zone is what we have come to affectionately call 1+1. It is a simplified self and peer assessment process that we first came across 20 + years ago through the work of Dr. Dale Hunter and the Zenergy style of facilitation.
Here is how it works:
At the end of a project / time period / activity (for example, an important meeting or presentation) I ask myself what is one thing I did well, and one thing I could do differently next time. I step into a growth mindset and focus on what will make the biggest impact moving forward.
If I collaborated with others on this activity then I would invite them to share their perspective about how it was to work with me.
One thing I noticed you did well was...
One thing you could do differently next time is...
The first question trains us to look for what worked. This allows me to recognise success factors that were maybe blind to me before. The second question invites constructive options to either improve or to be creative in different ways to approach the same situation.
When everyone has shared (if it’s a big group you can select just a few individuals) you then get to decide what ‘gifts’ (the comments) you would like to take on and integrate into your behaviour the next time around.
That’s it.
Short statements, focused, clear, specific, and helpful to move forward. The outcome is appreciation, being seen and heard and supported to be even more successful next time. Sometimes there is nothing to be or do differently. Appreciation and stretch for next time are always nourishing for the soul.
You may have noticed something else about this approach. The person about to receive the feed-forward goes first. They get to own their learnings, mistakes, and successes first. It is a tremendous relief to be able to fess up first. The reply of “Yep, you got it. That’s what I would suggest you do differently next time.” Being vulnerable and trusting the care and intention of others in this process opens us up to amazing gifts of insight and opportunities for collective team growth and performance.