Clear is kind: Part 1
Just imagine how you'd feel if your 'friends' at work knew you were walking around with spinach in your teeth, but no one told you...
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw
What would you do if you saw that a colleague of yours had spinach in their teeth, directly before delivering a critical sales pitch to a client?
According to Kim Scott's Radical Candor framework, there are 4 ways you could approach this.
Obnoxiously Aggressive: In front of the whole team you shout: "Allan! You've got spinach in your teeth! Didn't you check!? Don't you know how important this is! Go and sort yourself out!"
Manipulatively Insincere: Behind his back you whisper to a colleague: "Look at Allan! Did you see that he has spinach in his teeth? Honestly, he's such an idiot. I hope he screws up this pitch and embarrasses himself."
Ruinously Empathetic: You see the spinach, but it's too awkward and embarrassing for you to say anything, so you sit there in silence and let Allan go through with the pitch. Afterwards, Allan approaches you: "Chris, why didn't you tell me I had spinach in my teeth, I thought you were my friend?!"
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