Something in The Way

Why do we find it so difficult to tell people what we actually think?

There is so much left unsaid in the workplace because we are worried about how others might receive the message. There is an excellent book by Kim Scott called “Radical Candor.” In one of the stops on my journey, the CHRO had everyone in HR read the book. The two key points were that we have to care about our teammates personally, and we need to be brave enough to challenge teammates directly when the situation calls for it.

Caring about our teammates means that we get to know them as entire humans. It’s understanding that everyone brings the weight of their relationships with them to work. It’s knowing that each person has their own personal challenges that they are wrestling with. It’s understanding each team member deserves empathy.

Challenging teammates directly means that we give our teammates clear, direct feedback. It’s our responsibility to hold our teammates accountable for delivering results in the role they play for our team. We need to do this in a way that makes it clear that our teammates' actions and behaviors are being critiqued, we’re not critiquing their worth as a person.

Sometimes people are on a project or in a role that they are unable to grow into. The kind thing to do is help them move onto the next opportunity that will help them leverage their talents and flourish.

Our fear of damaging relationships is in the way of so many conversations that we need to have. Adopting the tenets of Radical Candor can help us begin to have these conversations.