Feed-Forward Fuels Faster Growth
Mar 22, 2026
Do you dread doing performance reviews because they feel like autopsies of dead projects?
Ever been surprised when your feedback conversations left people defensive instead of developed?
You have a feedback crisis that paralyzes growth by focusing entirely on the past. Top talent craves real-time, forward-focused development conversations.
Do You Beat a Dead Horse?
Think about how deeply backward-looking feedback infiltrates your culture:
- Your reviews focus on what went wrong last quarter in situations that no longer exist.
- Your team dreads feedback conversations because they feel like attacks rather than development.
- Your people play defense, protecting themselves instead of growing themselves.
Angela Cusack told me on the Work Positive Podcast, "Top talent wants feed-forward information. They don't want just feedback at the end of a week or the end of a month or heaven forbid the end of a year. They want feedback live time, in the moment, in action, in a forward way."
Shift from Feedback to Feed-Forward
The traditional approach to development said, "Review what went wrong so it doesn't happen again."
The L.E.A.R.N. framework says, "Reverse fear to feed-forward. Make new mistakes faster."
Think of it like NASCAR teams who keep "the notebook" of lessons learned. They run practice laps with crazy setups to learn what works and what does not. The worst thing, like hitting a wall, is not the worst thing when you learn from it. It is for "the notebook."
Rich Salon, author of The One Minute Jerk at Work, highlighted a key shift: ask, don't tell. He said, "It is a normal tendency to tell the person what to do. But ask more questions. Let them come to the solution." When people create their own action steps, they own the lessons.
Coaching Dreams are an Advantage
Roberta Matuson offered three powerful coaching questions:
- "What were your hopes and dreams when you took this job?”
- “Do you still have these hopes and dreams?”
- “What can I do to help you achieve them?"
These questions reverse current fears back to first dreams.
Rich Salon gave me the magic words for these conversations: "Help me understand." He explained, "You are not coming in attacking. It is neutral. It does not put people on the defensive." Space opens for learning on both sides.
Your L.E.A.R.N. Challenge
Try these three actions this week:
- Replace Telling with Asking: In your next development conversation, ask "Help me understand" before offering solutions. Let them discover their own path forward.
- Ask About Dreams: Ask one team member what their hopes and dreams were when they joined. Reconnect their daily work to those original aspirations.
- Share Your Skill Development: Identify one skill you are actively trying to develop and tell your team about it. Invite them to feed-forward with you on your journey.
The Work Positive Bottom Line
The best leaders today reverse fear to feed-forward rather than conducting autopsies of past failures that leave people defensive.
Stop analyzing what went wrong. Start exploring what could go right so everyone wins the race to develop talent and you L.E.A.R.N. @ Work.
Taken from Dr. Joey's newest book, L.E.A.R.N. @ Work: The Race to Develop Talent.
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