Replace performance review conversations with feedforward conversations
In coaching conversations, ask "what could you do differently?" instead of "what went wrong?"
Key takeaways
- What it is: In coaching conversations, ask "what could you do differently?" instead of "what went wrong?"
- Why it works: Post-event performance conversations carry inherent defensiveness risk because the person knows the leader has already formed a judgment. Framing the conversation as feedforward — "I want to think with you about the future, not prosecute the past" — reduces the threat signal and allows the person to engage with the substance. Goldsmith observes that this framing change alone often transforms the quality of coaching conversations.
- Evidence: Established clinical or therapeutic practice.
- Avoid: Beginning the feedforward coaching conversation by providing your own analysis of what went wrong — which resets the conversation to backward-looking evaluation even if you label it as feedforward.
Why it works
Post-event performance conversations carry inherent defensiveness risk because the person knows the leader has already formed a judgment. Framing the conversation as feedforward — "I want to think with you about the future, not prosecute the past" — reduces the threat signal and allows the person to engage with the substance. Goldsmith observes that this framing change alone often transforms the quality of coaching conversations.
How to do it
- 1Open coaching conversations with: "I’m not here to evaluate what happened — I want to explore what you want to do next."
- 2When you feel the pull to correct or critique, convert the thought to a future-facing question: "What would you try if you were doing this again?"
- 3Let the person arrive at their own analysis of what didn’t work before offering your view.
- 4End with: "What two things will you try differently in the next similar situation?"
What the evidence says
Clinical practiceCoaching research consistently finds that questions focused on future possibility and personal agency produce more behavioral change than questions focused on past performance. This aligns with motivational interviewing research on coaching framing.
Honest caveat: The specific feedforward coaching framing is Goldsmith’s; supporting evidence comes from broader coaching and MI research rather than feedforward studies specifically.
Common mistake
Beginning the feedforward coaching conversation by providing your own analysis of what went wrong — which resets the conversation to backward-looking evaluation even if you label it as feedforward.
IX Coach leads with what you want to do differently, not what you did wrong — structuring each coaching conversation around your future intentions rather than your past performance.
Practice this with IX Coach →