Radical Candor: Software Edition

Radical Candor is about giving guidance that’s kind and clear, specific and sincere. To achieve this goal you must care personally and challenge directly.

Being human, we have feelings. And those feelings affect our work. Some cultures might view emotions as an unprofessional design flaw, but truly — it’s not. It’s part of the package.

Ignoring the human feelings part of the equation leads to unhappiness. Unhappiness leads to alienation and cynicism. Alienation and cynicism lead to bad results and attrition.

We all try to avoid saying things that are uncomfortable. Some cultures more than others, perhaps, but everyone will try to avoid awkward and difficult conversations. If we do manage to pluck up the courage to give some tough feedback, we will try and sugar coat it in a way that will soften the blow.

Radical Candor is the quadrant we’re aiming to be in: where you care personally and challenge directly. You have taken the time to establish that you care, understand the person in front of you, and give them clear and actionable feedback. They might still get hurt or feel awkward receiving feedback, but are likely to appreciate it and modify their behavior accordingly.

If I had to summarize Radical Candor in two sentences, I would say: Radical Candor is not about telling the truth no matter what. Radical Candor is about building relationships where the truth is welcome in order to get better quality results and improve personally.

Let me tell you: when there are people involved, it’s never “just a code review”.