Radical Candor is Kim Scott’s model for honest and open communication that happens at the intersection of Care Personally and Challenge Directly. It’s based on the idea that clear is kind, and unclear is unkind.

Care Personally means that you care about the other person, not about whether you are winning a popularity contest.

Challenge Directly means that you share your perspective and invite the other person to do the same.

There is a world of difference between Radical Candor and brutal honesty, or as Kim Scott calls it, Obnoxious Aggression. It’s bad, but Ruinous Empathy can be even worse, and Manipulative Insincerity is the worst of all.

  • Radical Candor is kind and helpful.
  • Obnoxious Aggression is mean but may be helpful. Obnoxious Aggression is also called “brutal honesty” or “front stabbing.”
  • Ruinous Empathy is “nice” but ultimately unhelpful or even damaging. It’s seeing somebody with their fly down, but, not wanting to embarrass them, saying nothing, with the result that 15 more people see them with their fly down — more embarrassing for them.
  • Manipulative Insincerity is a stab in the back.

Image Source: Radical Candor | Feedback Training, Coaching & Consulting

What Caring Personally is NOT

  • Caring Personally does NOT mean getting all personal with somebody who wants privacy.
  • Caring Personally also does NOT mean over-sharing personal details of your life with those around you who may not want to hear them, and who may be made uncomfortable by them.

What Challenging Directly is NOT

  • Challenging Directly does NOT mean you can assume that whatever you think is “the truth” and therefore should be shoved down people’s throats.
  • Challenging Directly does NOT mean you are right. You may be wrong. In fact, you should expect and welcome a reciprocal challenge.
  • The “direct” in “Challenge Directly” does NOT mean to be brutal. Radical Candor is not brutal honesty. It means to share your (humble) opinions directly, rather than talking badly about people behind their backs.
  • Challenge Directly does NOT mean just saying whatever nutty thing pops into your head…

What Caring Personally IS

  • Caring Personally is at its core common human decency. You don’t have to have a deeply personal relationship to have this as your point of departure. But if you work closely with somebody — if for example, you are somebody’s boss — you need to begin to develop a positive human relationship with that person.
  • Caring Personally is inherently about thinking of others, putting their success and needs ahead of your own. At its best, it is not about being loved; it is about loving.
  • To Care Personally, one must move at a pace that doesn’t make the other person uncomfortable.

What Challenging Directly IS

  • Challenging Directly is giving people the kind of heads-up that underlies basic human decency. It is feedback or guidance that is clear, specific, respectful and sincere.

For more information about Kim Scott’s work:

Source: What Is Radical Candor?

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