Discussion 1: Shared Practice: Feed Forward Activity

Giving and receiving feedback in a formal performance appraisal can be a task that managers consider unpleasant and employees view as unhelpful. The added paperwork, the challenges of appropriately incentivizing performance with pay or promotion, the lack of actionable feedback given or received: all of these cause managers and their charges to view traditional feedback paradigms with cynicism and skepticism. Is there another way to integrate feedback into the workplace without dampening enthusiasm?

On his website, Marshall Goldsmith discusses some of the limitations of traditional feedback: “it focuses on the past, on what has already occurred—not on the infinite variety of opportunities that can happen in the future. As such, feedback can be limited and static, as opposed to expansive and dynamic” (Goldsmith, 2002). In response to the many limitations he identifies in the feedback process, he has developed an alternative: feedforward. In this Shared Practice, you will have the opportunity to experiment with the feedforward method and examine its potential effectiveness.

Then think about your goals and consider three questions:

• What should I stop doing?
• What could I start doing?
• What might I want to do differently?

Finally, consider the benefits, implications, or consequences to stopping, starting, or changing the behaviors you thought about.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 2

Post a description of one behavior that you would like to change in your professional life—one that significantly impacts how you manage or relate to others—and briefly describe this behavior in your post. Cite all references including the reading below.

READING:

http://www.marshallgoldsmith.com/articles/try-feed…