Candor:
Getting To What Matters
Takeaways
“Lack of
candor in business blocks smart ideas, fast action and good people contributing
all they’ve got. It’s a killer.” Jack Welch
Developing Candor and Trust
What it Means
The
absence of candor is the single biggest roadblock keeping companies from being
effective. Candor, that is, an open culture of frank, sincere and exhaustively
honest talk, breaks through political bias and gets to the heart of what really
matters. It means surfacing and sharing information broadly and transparently,
giving the real reason for decisions, rather than spinning each message to suit
a different audience, and most important of all, always letting team members
know where they stand.
Why it Matters
·
Candor
builds trust.
·
Candor
gets more people in the conversation, and when you get more people in the conversation
you generate richer ideas.
·
Candor
generates speed. Ideas can be debated rapidly, expanded, enhanced and acted
upon when everyone has the same information.
·
Candor
breaks through office politics. It eliminates the time team members spend
jockeying for position, vying for attention and using information to increase
their own power.
·
Candor
cuts costs.
·
Without
candor, team members have little idea where they stand in terms of their own
performance.
Action Plan
How Candor and Transparency Build
Trust
Behind
candor is transparency and authenticity. A transparent culture invites everyone
into the game and fosters an openness that builds self-confidence and trust,
not to mention improves the speed at which an organization can move. It allows
people to share information openly rather than hoarding it, allowing for faster
action. As a leader, it will help you set the tone for your team and enables
you to give credit where it is due by letting people know where they stand and how
the business is doing.
Your Starting Point
It’s
simple—candor unclutters.
As you
start to think about your organization, your team and your own personal
behavior, you will quickly realize how unnatural it can be to speak your mind
at all times. This section will prepare you to develop this trait by guiding
you through some concrete action steps.
1.
What
factors can lead to a lack of candor and what happens when that occurs?
2.
How
candid and transparent is my organization? Do managers, leaders and team
members speak honestly and openly with each other as a matter of habit?
3.
Do
my team members trust me to tell them the truth and to be honest when I deliver
news regardless of whether the news is good or bad? How do I know?
4.
When
I catch myself not being candid with someone, do I stop to ask myself why not?
What is motivating my lack of transparency?
5.
How
would I feel if I found out that my boss was not being candid with me about my performance
or in responding to ideas that I had about building our business?
6.
If
I could change one thing to promote more honest and open dialog among my team,
it would be?
Quick Wins
·
Start
by acknowledging your own mistakes (and yes, we all make mistakes!). Be the
first one to step up and publically say, “I messed up and this is how I’m going
to fix it.” And do it consistently—yes, you will have more than on opportunity.
When your team hears you talking openly about something that went wrong, and
was your fault, it clears the path for them to do the same.
·
Do
what you say you’re going to do.
·
Seek
help when you need it. This shows that you, like anyone else, can’t do everything
on your own all the time. This might not seem like an obvious display of
candor, but it demonstrates that you trust that your team members to stop and
show support. It sends a clear message that you’re all in this together, and
that you expect them to do the same when they need help.
·
Don’t
confuse practicing candor with being abrupt or abrasive. This is not an excuse
to be rude or humiliate co-workers in public. You should aim to practice candor
in the warmest, most humane, most respectful way possible.
·
Resolve
that being less than truthful is not an act of kindness; it’s an act of
cowardice.
·
Demonstrate
candor in the next meeting you lead by praising the team members who clearly
speak their mind.
·
Talk
about it. Tie it to a value in your organization. Make it a part of your
culture that will be recognized and rewarded. Discuss the benefits of candor
and transparency with your team and the processes you want to start using. Be
consistent and be repetitive. Don’t assume that everyone will just pick it up.
Establish a “Candor Model”
Having a
model and common language around the behaviors you are trying to instill in
your team can add substance to the process. Models help people articulate where
they are in solving a problem and set expectations that open issues must
actually get resolved and not just “sit out there” indefinitely.
The candor model: “surface, debate, improve, decide”
– isn’t just an advantage; it’s a necessity.
Surface
Surface
When you
see something that looks or feels wrong, make a point to address it publically.
Acknowledge that there is an issue that has been identified and that needs to
be fixed.
Debate
Get the
discussion on the table. Review both sides and don’t assume that one side is
right. Encourage competing points of view on what’s not working and why.
Improve
The
purpose of having open candid discussions is to move things to a better place,
not to assign blame. Always keep things focused on what needs to be done to
make it better.
Decide
Don’t get
caught in a never-ending debate cycle. Make a decision on the best approach and
move on. Great leaders have “edge;” the ability to make tough decisions.
Game Pages
Candor: Getting To What Matters
Developing
candor and trust doesn’t just happen because you’re the boss and you say so. It
is a process that you have to lead and infuse into your organizational culture
in a structured way. How much time it takes depends on how clear and consistent
you are in your messaging and how much you see the example yourself. But it can
be done. In fact, if you’re going to create a winning team—it must be done!
Candid Discussions
Surface
Issue to be resolved (clear summary
statement of the problem):
Key data to be discussed (past
actions and outcomes):
Specific improvement options
(choices with pros and cons listed):
Decision on action steps (including
timelines, owners and resources needed):
Team Survey
Lack of candor
Withholding
comments or criticism (for each: circle where the team is on the spectrum)
Keeping
mouth shut to make people feel better or avoid conflict
Sugarcoating
bad news to maintain appearances
Hoarding information
Bureaucracy,
layers, politicking, false politeness
Decisions
being made behind closed doors
Candor in Action
Straightforward
communication
All views
on the table
Talking
about the world realistically
Ideas
being debated from every angle
Honest
performance appraisal
Many
people involved in the conversation
What two areas are the best to
focus on?
1:
2:
Five tactical items to start
creating a culture of candor, transparency, and trust
1: ______________________________________
Owner: _____________________ Due Date: ______
2:
______________________________________ Owner: _____________________ Due Date:
______
3:
______________________________________ Owner: _____________________ Due Date:
______
4: ______________________________________
Owner: _____________________ Due Date: ______
5:
______________________________________ Owner: _____________________ Due Date:
______
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