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We have all heard of feed back; now let us understand the meaning of `Feed forward`.

Most of believe in living in the past, it is alright until our boss digs our old mistakes during our appraisal. That is when past begins to bite and the future begins to look bleak.
But these days` many companies seek to concentrate on the future, instead of harking back to the past. Providing feedback has long been considered an essential skill for leaders. While feedback has its value, feed forward helps one to solve mistakes that have occurred in the past. It encourages better communication between and among people at all levels. This results in a more dynamic and open organisation whose employees focus on the promise of the future rather than dwelling on the past.

Boss, you could work on your shortcomings

The other big development these days is that feed forward allows you to have skip/level meeting to provide suggestions on how your immediate boss could improve his/her performance. Employees play dual roles in the `Skip level meetings`. In the first meeting, they play the role of the subordinate and they are asked to provide `feed forward` - to give their boss suggestions for the future and in the second role they are asked to accept `feed-forward`- to listen to the suggestions for the future and learn as much as they can from their subordinates.

Management needs to be open minded

Such a practice can be adopted only if the management is sensitive to suggestions provided by their employees. Many organizations have a `know it all` attitude, which eliminates the need to listen to the employees. Employees then feel dejected. The gradual build up of this feeling, results in the employee leaving the organisation. Management has to be open to ideas and suggestions. This way they can overcome many hurdles.

Creating the right environment

The person providing feed forward has to believe that his/her suggestions will be well received. Feed forward can help one to enhance the future productivity. It provides a platform for a continuous improvement in environment. Of course, this can be achieved only if the seniors support it strongly. Feed forward can be used to co-evolve a desired future and get their ideas on how to achieve that future. Companies should hear out employees and take action on feasible and productive ideas.