Learn Hardcore German: Künftig möchte meine Chefin mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen. - In the future my boss would like to see more feedback in the minutes.

The finite verb (here: möchte) must be in the second position of the sentence, not necessarily after the subject.
The element in first position can be:
- the subject (Meine Chefin möchte…), or
- an adverbial/time expression (Künftig möchte meine Chefin…) as here.

So the structure is:

Künftig – first position (time adverb)
möchte – second position (finite verb)
meine Chefin – subject, follows the verb
mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen – rest of the predicate

If you start with Meine Chefin, you get the more “neutral” order:
Meine Chefin möchte künftig mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.

What exactly does künftig mean, and how is it different from in Zukunft?

Both künftig and in Zukunft can translate as “in future / from now on”.

künftig is a single-word adverb, quite common in written German and in somewhat formal speech.
- Example: Künftig komme ich pünktlich. – “From now on I’ll come on time.”
in Zukunft is a prepositional phrase, maybe a bit more neutral and a bit more everyday.

In your sentence, you could say:

Künftig möchte meine Chefin…
In Zukunft möchte meine Chefin…

No big difference in meaning; künftig can sound a touch more formal / compact, and it’s very typical at the beginning of a sentence setting the time frame.

Why is it meine Chefin and not mein Chef? What is the difference?

German distinguishes grammatically between a male and a female boss:

der Chef – male boss
die Chefin – female boss (formed by adding -in)

Because Chefin is grammatically feminine (die Chefin), the possessive must also be feminine nominative:

meine Chefin (feminine nominative)
vs.
mein Chef (masculine nominative)

So meine Chefin tells you that the boss is a woman. If it were a male boss, the sentence would be:

Künftig möchte mein Chef mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.

What case is meine Chefin, mehr Feedback, and im Protokoll, and why?

Breakdown by function:

meine Chefin – nominative
- It is the subject of the sentence: who wants something? → meine Chefin.
- Feminine nominative with meine.
mehr Feedback – accusative
- It is the direct object (what does she want to see?): mehr Feedback.
- “More feedback” is what she wants to see, so it’s in the accusative case.
- With mehr and an uncountable noun like Feedback, you don’t see a special accusative ending.
im Protokoll – dative
- in
  - dem (in + the) → im
- Here in expresses location (where does she want to see the feedback? → in the minutes), so in takes the dative.
- das Protokoll (neuter) → dative singular: dem Protokoll, hence im Protokoll.

So:

Subject (nominative): meine Chefin
Direct object (accusative): mehr Feedback
Prepositional phrase with dative: im Protokoll

Why is it im Protokoll and not something like im Protokolle?

Modern standard German normally does not use an extra -e ending in the dative singular of das Protokoll.

Old / very formal / poetic style can sometimes add an -e in the dative singular (e.g. im Hause, im Stande), but this is now rare and feels old‑fashioned.
For Protokoll, current standard dative singular is simply dem Protokoll, contracted: im Protokoll.

So im Protokoll is the normal, correct modern form.

What does Protokoll mean here? Is it like “protocol” in English?

Not usually. In many contexts, das Protokoll means “minutes” or “written record of a meeting” rather than “protocol” as in “technical protocol”.

In this sentence:

mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen = “to see more feedback in the meeting minutes / written record.”

So the boss wants more comments, assessments, or reactions to appear in the written minutes or report of meetings.

Depending on the context, Protokoll might also mean:

a lab record (in science)
a log or record (e.g. in IT: das Protokollieren = logging)

But here, the most natural reading is: meeting minutes.

Why is Feedback unchanged and without an article? Does it have a gender or plural in German?

In this sentence, Feedback behaves like an uncountable mass noun (like “information” in English):

No article is needed: mehr Feedback – “more feedback”.
Adding mehr indicates an indefinite quantity, so you don’t usually use an article.

As a noun in German, Feedback is usually treated as neuter: das Feedback.

Plural:

In many contexts, Feedback is used without a plural form (like “feedback” in English).
In some contexts you might see Feedbacks for separate feedback items, but it is less common and can sound awkward in more formal style.

In your sentence, the uncountable use is most natural, so:

mehr Feedback – “more feedback” (in general, not “more feedbacks”).

Why is the verb sehen at the very end? In English we say “wants to see”, with both verbs together.

German word order with modal verbs is:

Finite modal in second position
Main verb in the infinitive at the end of the clause

Here:

möchte – modal verb (like “would like to”)
sehen – main verb (“to see”)

The structure is:

Künftig (1st position)
möchte (finite verb – 2nd position)
meine Chefin mehr Feedback im Protokoll (middle)
sehen (infinitive – final position)

You cannot say: *Künftig möchte sehen meine Chefin… – that breaks the basic German word order rules.

This pattern is standard for modals:

Ich will heute länger arbeiten.
Wir müssen morgen früh aufstehen.

Does möchte here mean the same as will? What is the difference between möchte and will?

Both express a desire/intention, but the tone is different:

möchte (from mögen) is softer, more polite / tentative, often like “would like to” in English.
- Künftig möchte meine Chefin… = “In future, my boss would like to…”
will (from wollen) is stronger, more direct / determined, like “wants to” and sometimes “is determined to”.

Compare:

Meine Chefin möchte mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.
– She would like to see more; it sounds like a wish or preference, politely phrased.
Meine Chefin will mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.
– She wants to see more; sounds more definite and potentially more authoritative.

Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on how strong you want the boss’s intention to sound.

Could I move künftig somewhere else in the sentence? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move künftig; the core meaning stays the same, but the emphasis and flow change a bit.

Possible positions:

Künftig möchte meine Chefin mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.
– Time adverb at the beginning; very common in written style, emphasis on “from now on”.
Meine Chefin möchte künftig mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen.
– Subject first; more neutral spoken word order, still clear that the time frame is “in future”.
Meine Chefin möchte mehr Feedback künftig im Protokoll sehen.
– Possible, but a bit unusual; might sound slightly awkward or very emphatic in speech.

In general, the most natural alternatives are:

Künftig möchte meine Chefin… (original)
Meine Chefin möchte künftig… (more neutral spoken order)

Does sehen here mean literally “to see with the eyes”, or something more figurative?

It’s slightly figurative, but still close to the literal “see”.

Literally: “to see more feedback in the minutes” → when she looks at the written minutes, she wants to find / read more feedback there.
In meaning, it’s similar to English expressions like:
- “I want to see more detail in this report.”
- “I’d like to see more questions in the chat.”

So mehr Feedback im Protokoll sehen basically means:
“She wants more feedback to be included / recorded in the minutes so that it appears there.”