Most managers, if not all, have had to navigate tough conversations in their leadership journey. Providing honest feedback, addressing conflict, or even recognizing team members’ efforts can often feel daunting.
Radical candor (also referred to as compassionate candor), a concept introduced by Kim Scott in Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want By Saying What You Mean, is a communication and leadership strategy that balances empathy with honesty. It empowers leaders to provide constructive feedback while building trust and fostering professional relationships. Many of us may have practiced—or experienced—radical candor without even realizing it. This management tip explores the principles, practical tips, and exercises to help managers embrace and implement radical candor effectively.
Understanding Radical Candor
At its core, radical candor combines two essential traits:
- Care Personally: Demonstrate genuine concern for your team members’ well-being and success. Build trust by showing empathy and understanding.
- Challenge Directly: Deliver honest feedback without sugarcoating but do so in a way that respects the individual and avoids unnecessary harshness.
Radical candor lies in the balance between these two traits. Without this balance, feedback can fall into one of three less effective quadrants:
- Ruinous Empathy: High care, low challenge—feedback is overly soft or avoided altogether.
- Obnoxious Aggression: High challenge, low care—feedback is harsh and demotivating.
- Manipulative Insincerity: Low care, low challenge—feedback is insincere or absent.
Practical Tips to Apply Radical Candor
The key is to shift your focus from your own discomfort to what the other person needs, prioritizing their growth and well-being over your unease.
1. Give Timely, Specific Feedback: Don’t wait for annual reviews to address issues or provide praise. Deliver feedback as soon as possible while the context is fresh.
- Example: “I noticed you interrupted colleagues in today’s meeting. Your ideas are valuable, but it’s important to allow others to share theirs too. This will help create a more collaborative environment.”
2. Ask for Feedback: Model vulnerability by inviting your team to give honest feedback about your own performance. This fosters a culture of openness.
- Example Questions:
- “What can I do differently to support you better?”
- “What can I do differently on this project to make your job easier?”
- “What can I do differently to improve your experience with me?”
3. Balance Praise and Criticism: Provide positive feedback as often as constructive criticism. Be specific and sincere in both.
- Example: “You did an excellent job presenting the data clearly and persuasively. For next time, let’s work on preparing counterpoints for tougher questions from stakeholders.”
4. Choose the Right Medium for Virtual Feedback: In remote settings, it can be hard to find the right moment for feedback. Adjust your Outlook calendar to include 5-10 minute breaks between meetings. This gives you time for follow-ups, quick check-ins, or private feedback conversations, ensuring your communication is timely and thoughtful. Take the time to understand each individual's preference to choose the most effective medium for delivering feedback.
5. Foster a Culture of Open Communication: Encourage team members to provide feedback to one another. Set the tone by promoting constructive dialogue during meetings.
- Example: “We’re all here to help each other grow. Let’s create an environment where we can share feedback respectfully and openly.”
Encouraging Radical Candor in the Workplace
1. Prevent Backstabbing: Avoid workplace gossip by encouraging direct communication.
- Teach employees to resolve conflicts directly. Check out last month’s MMT for tips on Best Practices for Civil Discussions.
- Be available as a mediator if one-on-one conversations fail.
2. Management Tip - Encourage Upward Feedback with "Truth-to-Power" Meetings: Encourage upward feedback by organizing a "truth-to-power" meeting with a team, ensuring their manager is informed and supportive but does not attend. Use the Start/Stop/Continue framework to guide the discussion:
- What should the manager start doing?
- What should the manager stop doing?
- What should the manager continue doing?
Prioritize the team’s top three points, summarize and confirm the feedback with the group, and share it constructively with the manager. Collaborate on an action plan visible to the team and follow up in a few months to assess progress. This approach builds trust, accountability, and continuous growth.
3. Build Real Relationships: Focus on building authentic connections. Create opportunities for team bonding and genuine conversations.
Activities to Practice Radical Candor
1. Develop Your Go-To Feedback Question: Craft an open-ended question to solicit feedback from team members.
- Write down the question and plan when and to whom you will ask it.
- Example: “What’s one thing I can do differently to make your job easier?”
2. Role-Playing with the CORN and HHIIPP Framework: Practice both praise and constructive criticism scenarios with a trusted colleague to build confidence in delivering feedback and sharpen your ability to communicate with clarity and empathy. Practice giving and enhancing feedback using these tools to help foster a culture of trust and growth within your team:
- CORN:
- Context: Describe the situation.
- Observation: Point out the specific behavior.
- Result: Explain the impact of the behavior.
- Next Steps: Suggest what to do moving forward.
- Example: "During yesterday’s meeting (Context), you raised your voice when disagreeing with a colleague (Observation). This made it difficult for others to engage in the discussion (Result). Next time, let’s approach disagreements in a calmer tone.”
- HHIIPP:
- Humble: Acknowledge that your perspective might be incomplete and remain open to theirs.
- Helpful: Aim to improve the situation, not assert dominance.
- Immediate: Address issues promptly to prevent repeated behavior.
- In-Person: Whenever possible, deliver feedback in real-time for better engagement.
- Private: Criticize privately to avoid triggering defensiveness or embarrassment.
- Not About Personality: Focus on behaviors, not personal traits.
- Tip for Praise: Even with good intentions, praise can sometimes fall flat or seem insincere. Apply the CORN framework to praise by specifying the context, observation, and result, and encouraging continued efforts. This gives your praise authenticity and reinforces positive behaviors.
3. Share Your Radical Candor Story: Reflect on a moment when someone gave you honest feedback that initially stung but ultimately helped you grow. What was said, and how did it impact you? Why did this feedback resonate and stick with you? Sharing this story can inspire others to embrace radical candor and see the value in honest, caring conversations.
4. Self-Assessment Activities to Strengthen Radical Candor Skills: These self-assessments can help you identify strengths and areas for improvement in your communication, conflict resolution, and feedback styles while encouraging deeper reflection on how storytelling can enhance your leadership approach.
- A. Reflect on Conflict Resolution
Think of a time when you experienced conflict involving multiple colleagues, such as disputes between teams or interdepartmental feuds. How did you and your colleagues work toward resolving the issue? Consider what communication strategies were effective and what could have been done differently. - B. Evaluate Your Feedback Style
How do you provide feedback to your manager or boss? If you don’t, what holds you back? Reflect on whether your approach aligns with radical candor principles of being honest and caring, and consider how you might start or improve this practice. - C. Analyze Your Favorite Storytellers
Who are the storytellers you admire most, whether at work or in life? What is it about their storytelling style that captures your attention? Reflect on how they balance emotion, clarity, and impact to make their stories memorable. - D. Examine Story Details That Resonate
Think about the details in your favorite stories that bring them to life for you. Are they vivid descriptions, emotional connections, or surprising twists? Understanding these elements can help you craft more engaging and impactful messages when providing feedback or sharing experiences.
Final Thoughts
Practicing radical candor isn’t always easy—it requires courage, empathy, and intentionality. However, when done well, it creates an environment of trust, collaboration, and continuous growth. Remember, radical candor isn’t about being harsh; it’s about being honest while caring deeply. By modeling this behavior and encouraging others to do the same, you’ll foster a workplace culture where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.
For more tools and insights, explore Kim Scott’s book Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity or Masterclass on radicalcandor.com.
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Do you have feedback, questions or a suggested topic you would like to learn more about? Please email: managementtips@ucla.edu.
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