Story 23: Honesty
The story: They agreed to foster a culture of open, honest feedback. He was fully on board. Then he told her in the corridor that her presentation had been a disaster. Radical, she said. Not helpful. He had taken the permission and skipped the part that takes work. They had agreed on the value and never on what good feedback looks like.
What it means for organisations: Honest feedback is one of the most declared and least specified commitments in organisations. The word describes what you are allowed to say, and every difficult thing about feedback is in how and when you say it. So the commitment removes the hesitation and leaves the skill exactly where it was. That is the shape of it: teams agree to the permission and assume the craft comes with it.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 23
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: The desk
A close-up of a desk with a cup of coffee, papers, a pen, sticky notes, a laptop, and a plant. In the center lies a copy of Radical Candor by Kim Scott. Two voices speak from off-panel.
Axel (off-panel): Let's foster a culture of open, honest feedback.
Ally (off-panel): Love it. Radical candor all the way.
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: The hallway
An office corridor with framed art, plants, and a bench. Ally and Axel walk side by side. Ally looks matter-of-fact. Axel looks stung, gesturing in protest.
Ally: Your presentation? Total disaster.
Axel: Radical, yes… but not helpful at all!
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