My two cents on LEADERSHIP today:
The goal of Radical Candor is to achieve results together that would be unattainable individually. The ability to improve business outcomes hinges on individuals' understanding the need for change. Both parties are integral to this process.
The optimal approach lies in combining caring personally with challenging directly—this is the essence of Radical Candor. Thank you, Kim Scott! It entails demonstrating genuine concern for the other person while providing honest feedback and guidance.
Trusted relationships are not a requirement; even with strangers, caring personally before providing direct feedback fosters trust and rapport. Prioritizing relationships with employees, managers, and colleagues should be at the forefront of every manager's agenda and on the top of your mental to do list.
Be the first to lead. Trust is your secret ingredient.
I may struggle to articulate it, but please trust me when I say that the majority of management and leadership challenges, I've encountered in my consulting work revolve around the exchange of feedback. Regardless of the organization's size or industry, managers consistently face similar dilemmas when it comes to providing and receiving feedback.
Allow me to share a story about a manager I've had the opportunity to work with. Yuval oversees an R&D team comprising 15 employees. Within his team structure, he directly manages four other managers, each responsible for leading a team of software engineers. Yuval recently brought up concerns regarding one of these managers, Ben. Despite Ben's promotion to a managerial role a year ago, he has been unable to deliver the desired results that Yuval had anticipated.
Thinking at load, he was really debating how to talk with him about the performance issues, thinking he must be aware of it. When questioned about this, Yuval expressed confidence that Ben was already aware of his expectations and believed a formal meeting to set expectations was unnecessary. “I know he get me, I know he understands what my expectations are, we are all set”.
I questioned Yuval further, asking whether he believed Ben was truly cognizant of the current expectations and circumstances. I emphasized that nearly a year had passed since their last discussion about expectations and performance, and people's motivations and aspirations can evolve significantly over time. We're not static beings; we change and grow. Yuval then mentioned their weekly management meetings, where Ben regularly reported on his team's status, often highlighting missed deadlines. Despite Yuval's repeated admonitions to improve: “This is not OK you should do better”, Ben's performance showed no signs of improvement.
I probed further, questioning whether Yuval believed that his consistent feedback during these meetings had any effect on Ben's performance. Yuval admitted that it hadn't. So, I posed another question: Would he continue with the same approach, week after week, in the hopes of making an impact? Or would he consider changing his strategy to achieve a different outcome?
I decided it was time to introduce Yuval to the highly effective model of leadership communication by Kim Scott, called Radical Candor. We discussed the four quadrants, which are split according to two axes: caring personally and challenging directly. I explained to Yuval that his approach of publicly criticizing Ben in front of everyone, with the aim of improving results, was not effective. According to Kim's model, this behavior falls into the quadrant of "Obnoxious Aggression," meaning he doesn't care personally about Ben, and is only focused on challenging him directly to get better results.
Changing the strategy to embrace Radical Candor, where you genuinely care about Ben personally and are willing to challenge him directly, will undoubtedly have a positive impact.
We outlined a new communication strategy for interacting with Ben moving forward.
1. Rebuild the relationship:
Start with a sincere 1:1 meeting, with the following message:
"Ben, I believe you are a valuable asset to our team. Your experience brings immense value, and everyone benefits from your insights.
I realize I haven't directly communicated this before, and I apologize for that.
However, it's important to address the issue that you've been consistently missing deadlines for some time now, which has resulted in wasted time and energy.
I would like us to collaborate on identifying what isn't working and devise a strategy together to overcome these obstacles.
Your success and our success as a team is really important to me, and I would like us to work together to make things better.”
2. Provide more praise than criticism:
Recognizing that Obnoxious Aggression wasn't the appropriate approach, it's important to provide genuine praise for Ben's performance. This praise should focus on specific accomplishments and contributions, rather than superficial comments (not praise for the cool jeans he is wearing). Building Ben's self-esteem and instilling confidence in his ability to meet deadlines is crucial. Additionally, refrain from criticizing him publicly, as it can undermine morale and trust within the team.
3. Offer guidance in person and on the spot:
Offering to collaborate with Ben on identifying what isn't working and devising a strategy together to overcome obstacles is a form of guidance. It's important to note that providing guidance doesn't equate to simply telling someone what to do. As managers, it's crucial to approach guidance with humility, recognizing that our role is to support others in their growth and development journey, assuring better business results.
4. Ask for criticism before giving it!
Prioritize building trust by leading with vulnerability. If there are issues with Ben's deadlines, as the team leader, it's essential to take accountability and reflect on why things aren't working. Recognize that you have accountability for the team's success. Therefore, it's crucial to seek criticism from your team before offering your own. This approach fosters an environment of openness and mutual respect.
To conclude:
The goal of Radical Candor is to achieve results together that would be unattainable individually. Yuval's ability to improve business outcomes hinges on Ben understanding the need for change. Both parties are integral to this process.
The optimal approach lies in combining caring personally with challenging directly—this is the essence of Radical Candor. Thank you, Kim Scott! It entails demonstrating genuine concern for the other person while providing honest feedback and guidance.
Trusted relationships are not a requirement; even with strangers, caring personally before providing direct feedback fosters trust and rapport. Prioritizing relationships with employees, managers, and colleagues should be at the forefront of every manager's agenda and on the top of your mental to do list.
Be the first to lead. Trust is your secret ingredient.
Did you find this case study useful?
Need help thinking it through?
Comments