Executive coach and best-selling author, Marshall Goldsmith, on personal and professional leadership skills. Goldsmith has helped successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people and their teams and has been featured in a The New Yorker profile, Harvard Business Review interview, Forbes feature story and Business Strategy Review cover story (from the London Business School).
He is one of the few consultants who has been asked to work with more than 100 major CEOs and their management teams. Here are the topics covered in this DVD:
* Behavior change for leaders with expanding roles
* Listening Skills and motivation by not “adding too much value.”
* Asking for Feedback
* Avoiding Favoritism
* Team Building without time wasting or “Feedforward”
* Having to win too much
* Destructive Comments
Goldsmith’s work helping successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people and their teams has been featured in a The New Yorker profile, Harvard Business Review interview, Forbes feature story and Business Strategy Review cover story (from the London Business School).
BLOG NOTE: Marshall Goldsmith’s FeedForward Tool was created to provide individuals, teams and organizations with suggestions for the future and to help them achieve a positive change in their behaviour. The Marshall Goldsmith FeedForward Tool, based on the Extended DISC online assessment, is very easy to use. The Extended DISC online questionnaire takes only about 10 minutes to complete. All of the information on the report (cover pic) is derived from your “natural behavioral style” in the Extended DISC Personal Analysis Report (more>>).
To download a sample report (see cover page below) go to https://www.extdisc.com/feedforward/Sample Report.pdf. Marshall Goldsmith and Extended DISC North America’s Finland-born president Markku Kauppienen share a passion to help executives make better about their employees, teams and organization.
* Dr Marshall Goldsmith was listed in Forbes magazine as one of the five top executive coaches and in Human Resources magazine as one of the world’s leading HR consultants. He is a Wall Street Journal “top ten” executive educator and is University Professor at Alliant International University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management, which was named in his honor in 2006 (for more on him go here).
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Providing feedback has long been considered to be an essential skill for leaders. As they strive to achieve the goals of the organization, employees need to know how they are doing. They need to know if their performance is in line with what their leaders expect. They need to learn what they have done well and what they need to change. Traditionally, this information has been communicated in the form of “downward feedback” from leaders to their employees. Just as employees need feedback from leaders, leaders can benefit from feedback from their employees. Employees can provide useful input on the effectiveness of procedures and processes and as well as input to managers on their leadership effectiveness. This “upward feedback” has become increasingly common with the advent of 360° multi-rater assessments.
But there is a fundamental problem with all types of feedback: it focuses on a 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.
Over the past several years, I have observed more than ten thousand leaders as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise. In the exercise, participants are each asked to play two roles. In one role, they are asked provide feedforward —that is, to give someone else suggestions for the future and help as much as they can. In the second role, they are asked to accept feedforward—that is, to listen to the suggestions for the future and learn as much as they can. The exercise typically lasts for 10-15 minutes, and the average participant has 6-7 dialogue sessions. In the exercise participants are asked to:
Pick one behavior that they would like to change. Change in this behavior should make a significant, positive difference in their lives.
Describe this behavior to randomly selected fellow participants. This is done in one-on-one dialogues. It can be done quite simply, such as, “I want to be a better listener.”
Ask for feedforward—for two suggestions for the future that might help them achieve a positive change in their selected behavior. If participants have worked together in the past, they are not allowed to give ANY feedback about the past. They are only allowed to give ideas for the future.
Listen attentively to the suggestions and take notes. Participants are not allowed to comment on the suggestions in any way. They are not allowed to critique the suggestions or even to make positive judgmental statements, such as, “That’s a good idea.”
Thank the other participants for their suggestions.
Ask the other persons what they would like to change.
Provide feedforward – two suggestions aimed at helping the other person change.
Say, “You are welcome.” when thanked for the suggestions. The entire process of both giving and receiving feedforward usually takes about two minutes.
Find another participant and keep repeating the process until the exercise is stopped.
When the exercise is finished, I ask participants to provide one word that best describes their reaction to this experience. I ask them to complete the sentence, “This exercise was …”. The words provided are almost always extremely positive, such as “great”, “energizing”, “useful” or “helpful.” The most common word mentioned is “fun!”
What is the last word that most of us think about when we receive feedback, coaching and developmental ideas? Fun!
Eleven Reasons to Try FeedForward
Participants are then asked why this exercise is seen as fun and helpful as opposed to painful, embarrassing or uncomfortable. Their answers provide a great explanation of why feedforward can often be more useful than feedback as a developmental tool.
We can change the future. We can’t change the past. Feedforward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past. Athletes are often trained using feedforward. Racecar drivers are taught to, “Look at the road ahead, not at the wall.” Basketball players are taught to envision the ball going in the hoop and to imagine the perfect shot. By giving people ideas on how they can be even more successful, we can increase their chances of achieving this success in the future.
It can be more productive to help people be “right,” than prove they were “wrong.” Negative feedback often becomes an exercise in “let me prove you were wrong.” This tends to produce defensiveness on the part of the receiver and discomfort on the part of the sender. Even constructively delivered feedback is often seen as negative as it necessarily involves a discussion of mistakes, shortfalls, and problems. Feedforward, on the other hand, is almost always seen as positive because it focuses on solutions – not problems.
Feedforward is especially suited to successful people. Successful people like getting ideas that are aimed at helping them achieve their goals. They tend to resist negative judgment. We all tend to accept feedback that is consistent with the way we see ourselves. We also tend to reject or deny feedback that is inconsistent with the way we see ourselves. Successful people tend to have a very positive self-image. I have observed many successful executives respond to (and even enjoy) feedforward. I am not sure that these same people would have had such a positive reaction to feedback.
Feedforward can come from anyone who knows about the task. It does not require personal experience with the individual. One very common positive reaction to the previously described exercise is that participants are amazed by how much they can learn from people that they don’t know! For example, if you want to be a better listener, almost any fellow leader can give you ideas on how you can improve. They don’t have to know you. Feedback requires knowing about the person. Feedforward just requires having good ideas for achieving the task.
People do not take feedforward as personally as feedback. In theory, constructive feedback is supposed to “focus on the performance, not the person”. In practice, almost all feedback is taken personally (no matter how it is delivered). Successful people’s sense of identity is highly connected with their work. The more successful people are, the more this tends to be true. It is hard to give a dedicated professional feedback that is not taken personally. Feedforward cannot involve a personal critique, since it is discussing something that has not yet happened! Positive suggestions tend to be seen as objective advice – personal critiques are often viewed as personal attacks.
Feedback can reinforce personal stereotyping and negative self-fulfilling prophecies.Feedforward can reinforce the possibility of change. Feedback can reinforce the feeling of failure. How many of us have been “helped” by a spouse, significant other or friend, who seems to have a near-photographic memory of our previous “sins” that they share with us in order to point out the history of our shortcomings. Negative feedback can be used to reinforce the message, “this is just the way you are”. Feedforward is based on the assumption that the receiver of suggestions can make positive changes in the future.
Face it! Most of us hate getting negative feedback, and we don’t like to give it. I have reviewed summary 360° feedback reports for over 50 companies. The items, “provides developmental feedback in a timely manner” and “encourages and accepts constructive criticism” almost always score near the bottom on co-worker satisfaction with leaders. Traditional training does not seem to make a great deal of difference. If leaders got better at providing feedback every time the performance appraisal forms were “improved”, most should be perfect by now! Leaders are not very good at giving or receiving negative feedback. It is unlikely that this will change in the near future.
Feedforward can cover almost all of the same “material” as feedback. Imagine that you have just made a terrible presentation in front of the executive committee. Your manager is in the room. Rather than make you “relive” this humiliating experience, your manager might help you prepare for future presentations by giving you suggestions for the future. These suggestions can be very specific and still delivered in a positive way. In this way your manager can “cover the same points” without feeling embarrassed and without making you feel even more humiliated.
Feedforward tends to be much faster and more efficient than feedback. An excellent technique for giving ideas to successful people is to say, “Here are four ideas for the future. Please accept these in the positive spirit that they are given. If you can only use two of the ideas, you are still two ahead. Just ignore what doesn’t make sense for you.” With this approach almost no time gets wasted on judging the quality of the ideas or “proving that the ideas are wrong”. This “debate” time is usually negative; it can take up a lot of time, and it is often not very productive. By eliminating judgment of the ideas, the process becomes much more positive for the sender, as well as the receiver. Successful people tend to have a high need for self-determination and will tend to accept ideas that they “buy” while rejecting ideas that feel “forced” upon them.
Feedforward can be a useful tool to apply with managers, peers and team members. Rightly or wrongly, feedback is associated with judgment. This can lead to very negative – or even career-limiting – unintended consequences when applied to managers or peers. Feedforward does not imply superiority of judgment. It is more focused on being a helpful “fellow traveler” than an “expert”. As such it can be easier to hear from a person who is not in a position of power or authority. An excellent team building exercise is to have each team member ask, “How can I better help our team in the future?” and listen to feedforward from fellow team members (in one-on-one dialogues.)
People tend to listen more attentively to feedforward than feedback. One participant is the feedforward exercise noted, “I think that I listened more effectively in this exercise than I ever do at work!” When asked why, he responded, “Normally, when others are speaking, I am so busy composing a reply that will make sure that I sound smart – that I am not fully listening to what the other person is saying. In feedforward the only reply that I am allowed to make is ‘thank you’. Since I don’t have to worry about composing a clever reply – I can focus all of my energy on listening to the other person!”
In summary, the intent of this article is not to imply that leaders should never give feedback or that performance appraisals should be abandoned. The intent is to show how feedforward can often be preferable to feedback in day-to-day interactions. Aside from its effectiveness and efficiency, feedforward can make life a lot more enjoyable. When managers are asked, “How did you feel the last time you received feedback?” their most common responses are very negative. When managers are asked how they felt after receiving feedforward, they reply that feedforward was not only useful, it was also fun!
Quality communication—between and among people at all levels and every department and division—is the glue that holds organizations together. By using feedforward—and by encouraging others to use it—leaders can dramatically improve the quality of communication in their organizations, ensuring that the right message is conveyed, and that those who receive it are receptive to its content. The result is a much more dynamic, much more open organization—one whose employees focus on the promise of the future rather than dwelling on the mistakes of the past.
The term “feedforward” was coined in a discussion that I had with Jon Katzenbach, author of The Wisdom of Teams, Real Change Leaders and Peak Performance.
Footnote: The Extended DISC Personal Analysis Report (free pdf sample) is the basis of the Marshall’s FeedForward Report. The cover page of the 30 page report is depicted below. To download a brochure on the Personal Analysis Report click here
Demonstrating Integrity: A Key Characteristic of the Future Global Leader
By Marshall Goldsmith
At a time when shredding documents, creative accounting and ruthless tactics come to light in the media on a fairly regular basis, it’s no surprise that the young leaders of today have spotted the need for leaders to demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior. As a matter of fact, young leaders of today believe that demonstrating integrity will become the most important characteristic of future leaders.1
What Is Integrity? “Integrity is the quality of possessing and adhering to high moral principles or professional standards.”2 In other words, it’s not enough to simply espouse values; global leaders have the added responsibility of influencing through example.
Indeed, recent events in the business arena involving companies such as Enron and WorldCom have illustrated how integrity lapses can lead even “benchmark companies” into bankruptcy. These unfortunate negative public examples of integrity violations have clearly made the business case for including integrity as a key quality of the leader of the future.
Demonstrating Integrity The next question you will probably have arise: How do I (or do I already) demonstrate integrity? Following are five significant characteristics of demonstrating integrity as well as some (but not all!) actions you can take to demonstrate integrity.3
One characteristic that demonstrates integrity is to behave honestly and practice ethical behavior in your interactions. You can accomplish this by:
Recognizing that you are a model for those whom you lead
Being consistent and clear about your ethical standards
Providing facts, not smokescreens
Speaking up even when it may be risky to do so
Challenging any system that encourages dishonesty or rewards unethical behavior
A second characteristic that demonstrates integrity is to ensure that the highest standards for ethical behavior are practiced throughout the organization. You can do this by:
Being consistent and clear about ethical standards and expectations
Encouraging people to express concerns about questionable practices
Reviewing ethical concerns with your staff or management
Offering open, candid feedback to management and coworkers
Recognizing that honesty and fairness in all relations with others is important
A third characteristic that demonstrates integrity is to avoid political and self-serving behavior. You can demonstrate this by:
Understanding that being competent in your job is the most effective method of achieving success
Realizing that organizational politics take many forms; list the tactics you are aware of
Sharing recognition; not accepting undue credit
Being a team player
Combating job politics through objective measurements of performance
A fourth characteristic that demonstrates integrity is to courageously stand up for what you believe in. You can do this by:
Understanding that risk taking plays a part in nearly every decision made
Being willing to take risks to achieve excellence and stay competitive
Developing a positive attitude when facing objections
Working to gain support and cooperation from key individuals in your organization
Encouraging and supporting others to speak up and voice their viewpoints
The fifth characteristic that demonstrates integrity is to be a role model for living the organization’s values. You can accomplish this by:
Walking the talk: be an example of what you want your employees to be
Being sure your performance reflects the best standards
Acknowledging the unique knowledge and talents of others
Demonstrating pride in your company
Coaching employees to follow your example of performing to high standards
People will not follow leaders whom they do not trust. Great leaders, trusted leaders demonstrate integrity and in doing so, achieve the faith and confidence of their workers, colleagues and peers, who then become willing followers, loyal employees and trusted coworkers. This important characteristic is an integral step on the road to success for the great leaders of the future.
1 Goldsmith, M., et al. 2003. Global Leadership: The Next Generation. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (See pages 311-316 for more about the Global Leader of the Future Project.) 2Encarta Dictionary [computer software]. 2008. Redmond, WA: Microsoft 3 Goldsmith, M., et al. 2003. Global Leadership: The Next Generation. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Marshall Goldsmith, MBA, PhD, founder of Marshall Goldsmith Partners LLC, is a world authority on helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting behavioral change. His executive coaching expertise has been highlighted in Forbes, Fast Company and Business Week. The most recent of his 22 books is What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (Hyperion, 2007). Learn more about Marshall in the WABC Coach Directory. Marshall can be reached by email at Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com,
Extended DISC was first introduced to Western Australia through Denis McCarthy & Associates. Denis was introduced to Extended DISC by Marshall Goldsmith after reading his 2000 book on “Coaching for Leadership: How the world’s greatest coaches help leaders learn” hailed by Warren Bennis as “the single best collection of writings and writers on executive coaching”. Dr Marsall Goldsmith was listed in Forbes magazine as one of the five top executive coaches and in Human Resources magazine as one of the world’s leading HR consultants. He is a Wall Street Journal “top ten” executive educator and is University Professor at Alliant International University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management, which was named in his honor in 2006 (for more on him go here).
Featured Services & Tools Featured Services & Tools http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/html/marshall/resources-services.html
This is a great resource … Developed by Marshall Goldsmith and Extended DISC R&D Team, the FeedForward tool provides individuals, teams and organizations with suggestions for the future and to help them achieve a positive change in the behavior.
Marshall Goldsmith : What Got You Here Won’t Get You There www.whatgotyouhere.com/html/Marshall_Goldsmith.htm
Dr. Goldsmith’s twenty-two books include: The Leader of the Future (a Business Week best-seller) and Coaching for Leadership.
With effect from 15 April 2008 the company Extended DISC (Division of North America) became an official partner of International Coaching Federation. IFC Organization brings together 14 thousand members in 80 countries worldwide. Their mission is to integrate, support and sustain the profession Coach through the implementation of programmes and labour standards in coaching. More information can be found on the website.
Dear ICF Member,
We are proud to be an official ICF Resource Partner and offer the best in behavioral assessments for your coaching practice and clients.
“Extended DISC® provides information you need.” - Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
Author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a New York Times best seller, Wall Street Journal #1 business book and winner of the Harold Longman Award as the Best Business Book of 2007.
One of 50 great thinkers and business leaders who have influenced the field of management over the last 80 years – American Management Association
One of the top 50 most influential living management thinkers – The London Times
One of the most influential practitioners in the history of leadership development – BusinessWeek
One of the top ten executive educators – The Wall Street Journal
One of the five most-respected executive coaches – Forbes
One of 16 major thought leaders in his field – The Business Times
America’s preeminent executive coach – Fast Company
More information on coaching with Extended DISC can be found at:
May 13 this year. Diners Club Poland has launched a nationwide educational program for the managerial staff called “Talent Club.” The main objective of the programme is to encourage managers to develop their talents, skills and knowledge. Talent Club have created special educational research and testing e-learning courses online at www.talentclub.pl.
Worldwide research on the most effective managers of our time have shown that the only thing that distinguishes them from the average staff is that they have not tried to change or improve people.Instead effective managers identifies the special abilities of the individual members of his team and allow them to develop their talents and skills.
Diners Club Poland who conceived the idea for the programme invited a group of leading Talent Managers to create a nationwide educational program for the Polish managerial staff called Talent Club.The programme aims to encourage managers to develop their talents, skills and knowledge of using special tests and studies to be conducted among the managerial staff.
The Talent Club also will allow the examination of the managerial staff job satisfaction, lifestyle and professional development opportunities. Each visitor to www.talentclub.pl has the opportunity to profile her or his own assumptions. Participants in the program may grow more systematic information about themselves, the results that can achieved in using tools like Extended DISC and the range of available tests.
Until now Certification Training was followed by a purchase of points enabling the certified user to produce Personal Analysis and other reports on their Extended DISC software. The minimum number of points which have to be purchased is 500, which is equivalent to 10 Personal Analysis reports.
As an incentive if you order before or during the training, we will reward you by waiving or refunding the cost of your training.
Buy 10 Personal Analysis reports and receive a Personal Analysis Accreditation half-day training for FREE (valued at $395). Email: denis.mccarthy (at) extendeddisc.com
Buy 15 Personal Analysis reports and receive one Professional System Accreditation full-day training for FREE (valued at $795). Email: denis.mccarthy (at) extendeddisc.com
Free CD-Rom containing Extended DISC Professional HR System 5.0 Full Version, Case Studies, articles and reports. Ask for a FREE COPY of the CD-Rom (pictured below to the left) and install it on multiple computers. Contact us when you are ready to begin using the system. Simple!
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Are you a Business Manager, Sales Manager, HR Manger or Recruiter? In order to give you the chance to experience the benefits of Extended DISC, we would like to offer you a chance to see for yourself the power of Extended DISC. Contact denis.mccarthy (at) extendeddisc.com for your free Personal Analysis report. Denis will tell you how to get on-line to complete your report and will coach you through your feedback. ..
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Are you a coach? Or do you coach as part of your role? If so our new booklet “COACHING WITH EXTENDED DISC” is for you. A coaches’ guide to understanding the impact of behavioural styles on performance and effective communication in relationships. Call Denis on 0404 020 242or email denis.mccarthy (at) extendeddisc.com to reserve your copy. .
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