RADICAL CANDOR
We ’ re all about helping people become more Radically Candid with their feedback . By feedback , we mean praise and criticism . Being Radically Candid means :
1 . Being more specific and sincere with praise 2 . Being more kind and clear with criticism
This will improve your relationships at work AND help you achieve a better business result . But it ’ s easy for us to give this advice and hard for you to do it .
Here ’ s a way to think about how to be more kind and clear with criticism and more specific and sincere with praise . Radical Candor is HIP :
• HUMBLE
• HELPFUL
• IMMEDIATE
• IN PERSON
• PRIVATE CRITICISM / PUBLIC PRAISE
• NOT ABOUT PERSONALITY
Below is a brief explanation of what these elements mean . In additional posts , we ’ ll dive into more detail and provide specific tips you can use for each section .
BUT , A NOTE OF CAUTION : Whatever you do , don ’ t sit there saying nothing trying to remember what “ I ” stands for . For the vast majority of people , the important thing is to just say it !
BE HUMBLE
You can ’ t Care Personally or Challenge Directly if you ’ re not humble . First , it ’ s hard to care at a personal level about somebody if you think you ’ re superior . And you can ’ t Challenge Directly and be open to the reciprocal challenge if you ’ re not humble enough to realize you may be wrong . By humble we don ’ t mean you have to grovel or pretend to be worse than you are . We just mean that you need to have the possibility top of mind that whatever you ’ re saying may be wrong . Don ’ t be arrogant . Be curious . Deliver your feedback firmly and with supporting rationale but be open to push-back . Listen with true intent to understand so that you get a full command of both perspectives before agreeing or disagreeing .
BE HELPFUL
It ’ s easy for us to say , “ be helpful .” It ’ s obvious that being helpful is the whole point of Challenging Directly and that it ’ s a great way to show you Care Personally . Still , it ’ s hard for you to do it . You don ’ t have a lot of time , and you don ’ t have all the answers ! The good news is that being helpful doesn ’ t mean you have to be omniscient or to do everybody else ’ s work for them . It just means you have to find a way to be as clear as possible and to offer that clarity as a gift .
GIVE FEEDBACK IMMEDIATELY
When you give feedback immediately , you save yourself the burden of remembering to give it later , and , since the details are all fresh in your mind , you are able to be much more specific . You also give the person a better chance to improve immediately . If you offer immediate impromptu feedback , it really won ’ t take too much time , though it might occasionally make you a couple minutes late to your next meeting .
GIVE FEEDBACK IN PERSON ( IF POSSIBLE )
Remember , the clarity of your feedback gets measured not at your mouth , but at the other person ’ s ear . That ’ s why it ’ s best to deliver feedback in person . Since upwards of 90 % of communication is non-verbal , you won ’ t really know if the other person understood what you were saying if you can ’ t see the reaction . When talking in person , you can make adjustments based on their body language and emotions . If they are not hearing you , you need to move further out on the “ Challenge Directly ” axis . If they are upset , you need to move further up on the “ Care Personally ” axis — without backing off your direct challenge !
PRAISE IN PUBLIC , CRITICIZE IN PRIVATE
A good rule of thumb for feedback is praise in public , criticize in private . Public criticism tends to trigger a defensive reaction and make it much harder for a person to accept they ’ ve made a mistake and to learn from it . Public praise tends to make the recipient feel great , and it encourages others to emulate whatever they did that was great . But , it ’ s a rule of thumb , not a hard and fast rule .
DON ’ T MAKE YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT PERSONALITY
There is a big difference between Caring Personally and talking about personality when giving praise and criticism . Make your feedback about the work the person has done , rather than about the person . “ I think that ’ s wrong ” is more effective than “ You ’ re wrong .” And “ That was a great presentation because X , Y , Z ” is more beneficial than “ You ’ re great at presentations !”
Hopefully this introduction to the HIP approach is helpful . +
Kim Scott is the author of Just Work : How to Root Out Bias , Prejudice , and Bullying to Build a Kick-ass Culture of Inclusivity and Radical Candor : Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity and cofounder of the companies Just Work and Radical Candor .
Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox , Qualtrics , Twitter , and other tech companies . She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense , YouTube , and DoubleClick teams at Google . Prior to that Kim managed a pediatric clinic in Kosovo and started a diamondcutting factory in Moscow . She lives with her family in Silicon Valley . KimMaloneScott . com
9