Radical candor isn’t so radical.

How do you provide feedback?

Have you ever thought about the practice of feedback: who is it for? Is your delivery effective? How do you know?

In business culture, we have leaned into annual feedback sessions. Meaning once a year, we share our thoughts with our employees. But how can we expect continuous growth with our teams and our businesses with only one session? How can we expect these muscles to work if not flexed more often?
What I often see with my clients is a gentle feedback loop. Insights are shared, nothing too harsh, and nothing to really sink your teeth into. This begs the questions: what is the value of providing this feedback? And who is it serving?

I listened to an interesting podcast all about radical candor. In this, the value of honest communication is highlighted as the real driver in moving your team and business forward. The feedback we provide needs to be meaningful and authentic. Throw-away compliments are not helpful. Imagine being told you're doing well for years and then being let go, or seeing everyone around you be promoted? It's like you're playing a game but don't have access to all of the players or rules- so really you can never win.
As a leader our goal is to develop other leaders. Support our teams to encourage and drive their potential.
If we only ever have positive feedback, or the notorious "crap sandwich", we miss out on real opportunities to develop and grow our people. Have a listen, and then consider your approach. Are you an enabler or a leader?
https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/02/defining-radical-candor-and-how-to-do-it