Radical Candour and Psychological Safety: How to Deliver Meaningful Feedback

To be truly effective, feedback at work needs to be direct and precise. It also needs to be delivered with kindness and empathy. Luckily, this is where Radical Candour can help us.

Feedback in the workplace can be a difficult area to navigate. We know that feedback is a hugely valuable tool. It can help to improve processes, procedures and relationships. What’s more, feedback can be a great motivational tool for employees. Managers need to be able to deliver timely, honest feedback to employees, and employee feedback should also be prioritised and promoted within organisations.

The issue lies in how this feedback is given. As empathetic humans, we don’t want to upset anyone or damage anyone’s pride, but being ‘too nice’ when delivering feedback often leads to what author Kim Scott refers to as ‘Ruinous Empathy’. Ruinous Empathy results when we try too hard to spare someone’s feelings, ultimately diluting valuable feedback. So what’s the answer?

For Kim Scott and many others, the best option in terms of psychological safety and feedback appears to be radical candour.

What is Radical Candour?

Radical Candour means giving direct and honest feedback whilst maintaining empathy for the colleague at the receiving end. Unlike Ruinous Empathy, Radical Candour enables you to be frank and open about feedback while respecting the emotions and complexity of the person before you.

When People Insight leads group coaching workshops following 360 feedback surveys we often see managers struggling to have tough conversations with their peers, direct reports or their bosses. It is common to feel awkward about these conversations and end up beating around the bush. Radical Candour encourages managers to bring important issues and topics out in the open, while at the same time being mindful of the feelings and emotions of others. The idea is that by being honest, precise and clear about feedback while also respecting the other person as a coworker and human being, you are allowing solid, trusting relationships to develop.

As Kim Scott says, 

“The good news is that you don’t have to be a nasty manager to be direct. You can say it as it is while also remaining human.”

Here is a great video on Radical Candour with Kim Scott which explores the topic in six minutes:

What is Psychological Safety?

First introduced by organisational behavioural scientist Amy Edmonson, psychological safety means “a shared belief held by team members that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.”

A psychologically safe workplace is one where colleagues can, for example, challenge one another, admit mistakes or share personal details without fear of repercussions or punishment.

Using Radical Candour to Encourage Psychological Safety

So how does Radical Candour feed into and improve psychological safety in the workplace?

Poorly delivered feedback can be harmful for psychological safety as it leaves colleagues feeling vulnerable, defensive or offended. Practising Radical Candour, on the other hand, can support psychological safety at work by demonstrating to colleagues that mistakes are opportunities to learn, and ensuring feedback is led by empathy.

7 Ways to Practise Radical Candour in Your Team

So how can you begin to improve levels of psychological safety by introducing Radical Candour?

Below are some tips to help put radical candour into practice in your teams.

1. Ask people to be radically candid with you (and be thankful when they are!)

As a manager, this process will give you the experience of what it is like to receive feedback and, most importantly, will build a foundation of trust in your team.

Explain why you are seeking feedback and say something along the lines of “We all have feedback to offer those we work with, including myself. I’d really appreciate it if going forward you can be honest and direct with me if you have feedback about my approach as a manager or the work I produce.”

Your team may be hesitant about doing this at first. Reassure them that it’s OK and avoid critiquing their criticism. Start by asking questions in team meetings or 121s like:

• ‘Do you feel I keep you updated enough on Project X…’
• ‘How do you feel about approaching me if you have an issue?’
• ‘What could I have done differently to have helped Situation X?’

2. Pair feedback with coaching

People Insight’s employee surveys indicate that, as a trend, employees desire more guidance and coaching from their managers. In fact, how employees feel about career development and aspirations is a key driver of engagement in our PEARL model.

So, when providing critical feedback, be sure to offer your support. For example, share an instance where you experienced the same issue and share how you overcame it. Or include suggestions of how they could approach a similar situation next time.

3. Remind yourself ‘It’s not mean. It’s clear.’

Instead of overthinking your feedback, lead with empathy and just say it. If you’re over-thinking how to feedback you probably won’t get the message across.

4. Give feedback in person and keep it informal

Giving feedback doesn’t have to prompt a long discussion and it certainly doesn’t need to wait for the next 121 or performance review. If possible around hybrid or flexible working, try to give feedback in person. Otherwise, arrange a video call. Avoid sending feedback via email. A lot can be misconstrued and misinterpreted when we’re lacking intonation and facial cues.

5. Praise in public, criticise in private

In Kim Scott’s book on Radical Candour, she illustrates this point in a question ‘If your colleague walked out of the restroom with their fly down what do you say?’

Following the axels of Kim’s feedback framework, ruinous empathy means you do not say anything (and let them face further embarrassment), being obnoxiously aggressive (high in direct challenge and low in personal care) means you shout it out for others to hear, while being radically candid simply means you whisper it to the person.

6. Be specific with feedback and avoid personalisation

Don’t be abstract when giving feedback. Instead, explain when the behaviour or incident happened, what happened and the consequence. Separate the action from the person by critiquing the behaviour or the piece of work instead of their personality.

For example, “I don’t feel the final part of that presentation is as strong as it could be. Having seen you in action before, I know you can finish on a stronger note.”

7. Demonstrate your confidence in the person

Being specific with feedback means you’re not leaving any room for interpretation. The feedback should be direct in a way that can’t be misinterpreted as a lack of confidence in their innate skills and strengths. As Steve Jobs said ‘do it in a way that does not call into question your confidence in their abilities.’

People Insight is one of the UK’s leading employee engagement companies, helping businesses realise their potential, boost employee engagement and improve the employee experience through surveys. Get in touch and book a demo today to see how we can help you with your feedback process.