Radical Candor

Hello QuickBooks Community! Hope your week is going well and business is booming. I wanted to take some time and talk about something I learned this week. It’s called Radical Candor, and it’s based on a book by Kim Scott. If you’re not up for reading a book, you can watch the Ted Talk or search the web for more information. Author  Kim Scott describes this approach as “Caring Personally while Challenging Directly. At its core, Radical Candor is guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific and sincere.”

Managers across the globe can wind up communicating feedback poorly with their team by using one of these 3 feedback fails:

Obnoxious Aggression- hopefully this isn’t you, but this is that boss that no one likes. They haven’t really taken the time to create a relationship with their team and their feedback is harsh and unkind. They may think it’s “brutal honesty” but the delivery doesn't foster a healthy working relationship, and the feedback, however accurate, isn't helpful.

Ruinous Empathy – it’s great when you like your team, but when you try to protect their feelings by not telling them what they need to hear, you’re not doing them any favors. It may feel nice and seem to keep the peace, but it doesn’t grow your team or create success in your business.

Manipulative Insincerity – passive aggressiveness is at the heart of this method. It’s basically a product of not caring about your team enough to give them feedback or areas to improve in. Your praise is insincere and you flatter someone to their face, but usually don’t have nice things to say behind their back. According to Scott, this is the worst kind of “feedback fail.”

Ok, what’s the solution? Radical Candor! Scott explains that it’s a mix of Challenging Directly and Caring Personally. She says, “To build strong relationships, you have to Care Personally. This can be as simple as showing enough vulnerability to admit when you’re having a bad day, and creating a safe place for others to do the same. In order to succeed, you have to Challenge Directly. Challenging people is often the best way to show you care. It does not mean that whatever you think is the truth; it means you share your (humble) opinions directly.”

These two methods put together is what makes feedback clear and sincere.

What’s your method for giving critiques to your team? What has worked for you, and what hasn’t? We’d love to hear your opinions below!