My most important leadership value

This article is one part of a series on my leadership values, which form the basis of my leadership blueprint, a tool that I use to accelerate my integration into new teams by helping them understand who I am, what I value, and how it shows up in the work I do every day.

Although the article is short, it contains many links to books and reference materials that flesh out particular concepts. I recommended that you take the time to read these supporting materials to develop a more complete picture of the ideas and how they might apply to you, your teams, and your organization.

My leadership values: Candor, Ownership, Leadership, Marking & Sharing, Diversity & Collaboration, Joy

What candor means to me.

When people can challenge and discuss ideas directly and in the open, regardless of position or tenure within a group or organization, innovation, diversity, inclusion, and positive feedback loops will thrive. Candor is the foundation of creating meaningful high-trust, high-support structures within teams that help people take greater ownership, improve their area of the business, and take more ownerhsip while accelerating their personal growth and the effectiveness of the business. It requires creating a psychologically safe environment to build high-functioning teams that don't avoid hard conversations and move quickly to productive solutions to challenging problems.

“At its core, Radical Candor is guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific and sincere.” — radicalcandor.com

How I foster candor when leading teams

• Being the model of receiving feedback well, actioning it, and following up with people to let them know what impact and value I’ve received due to their contributions to my understanding, awareness, and blind-spots.
• I will not always agree with the perspectives, advice, or opinions, and I will let you know why I’m choosing to disregard what you’ve graciously shared with me. Our priorities may not be the same, or I’m optimizing for another point-of-view, or I may have additional insight or context.
• By frequently and earnestly, requesting feedback on my own performance, character, and work, how I’ve helped or hindered you, where I’m failing you, where I’ve not lived up to the bar I’ve set to the fullest regardless of our respective levels within an organization.
• Developing a genuine interest in the goals, growth, and interests of the people I work with and pro-actively supporting them in their pursuits, I invest in the people I work with and manage.
• Being willing to have challenging conversations, what Susan Scott calls Fierce Conversations, and discussions to explore challenging areas and find a positive path forward.
• Acknowledging my own biases and doing my best to build empathy and explore others’ perspectives and positions. (More on biases)
• I prioritize dialog and discussion, which adds to the pool of shared meaning, a phrase I picked up reading Crucial Conversations, which results in greater understanding, alignment, and empathy.
• Establishing shared expectations, holding myself accountable for living them, and pointing out when and where I, other people, or the company isn’t living up to it.
• Provide great feedback; what Ed Catmull calls a good note in his book Creativity Inc.

“A good note says what is wrong, what is missing, what isn’t clear, what makes no sense. A good note is offered at a timely moment, not too late to fix the problem. A good note doesn’t make demands; it doesn’t even have to include a proposed fix. But if it does, that fix is offered only to illustrate a potential solution, not to prescribe an answer. Most of all, though, a good note is specific.”

How to spot environments that suppress candid conversations.

• Leaders who use, intentionally or otherwise, fear-based leadership practices.
• People are afraid to voice concerns, opinions, perspectives.
• You feel unheard, placated, or that your feedback goes into a void.
• Feedback is only delivered by your manager or during a scheduled review cycle.
• People don’t talk about problems, perceived or otherwise.
• People dismiss opinions or perspectives without discussion.
• People tell others to stay in their own lane when their actions, perspectives, plans, or ideas are challenged.
• Systems and processes are designed to avoid holding by people with more authority in higher positions accountable from the bottom-up, and hold people accountable soley from the top-down.

What I’ve witnessed by adopting candor in my leadership practice.

Over time, candor transform teams with anxiety, misalignment, and high turn-over into vibrant cultures that thrive on innovation, collaboration, support, and trust. Small-problems get addressed by individuals before they turn into big issues requiring heavy-handed intervention. Big problems become less frequent, hero culture is minimized, and people create healthy interdependent relationships.

People are more engaged in supporting the business, leadership, and each other. People start to crave good feedback, seeking and providing it frequently and without solicitation while also holding themselves and others accountable for the quality given and received.

The adoption of a growth mindset is more easily achieved and maintained. People have encouragement from peers, leadership, and the company — leaving people feeling supported instead of criticized.

Teams spend more time being pro-active and less time being reactive. Challenges are surfaced, discussed, and addressed sooner. Small issues are addressed when they are small and never turn into bigger challenges. Big problems happen less frequently, and the team is more capable of handling them when they appear. People and teams align more quickly on the most important work.

When candor is valued, people start working as a team instead of just being on a team, a subtle and critical distinction. This key difference allows teams to dramatically increase their effectiveness as individuals and as a team and leads to natural efficiencies. Solving more, and bigger problems along the way.

Read about my other leadership values: Candor, Ownership, Leadership, Marking & Sharing, Diversity & Collaboration, Joy