The Importance of Candor

In Jack Welch's latest book Winning, which I finally got around to listening to, a pervasive lack of candor is what Welch calls "the biggest dirty little secret in business". He goes on to say that it "basically blocks smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all they've got. It's a killer".

So what is candor? Merriam-Webster Online defines it as "unreserved, honest, or sincere expression: forthrightness". Jack Welch defines it as "giving it to you straight".

Welch attributes much of the success General Electric (GE), the company he led for many years, and his own personal success as a leader, to always being candid, both in transparency about the strategy, direction, and challenges that the company faced and in the delivery of individual and team feedback.

Many managers have a hard time with candor. It's human nature to not want to tell people things that hurt their feelings. It seems impolite. But how do you expect people to develop and grow if they think and you act like everything is a-okay? That's doing them a disservice! At my company, Triumvirate Environmental, we're in the midst of our annual performance appraisal process. We coach managers to be candid in the delivery of feedback to their employees. While giving employees direct, constructive feedback will provide them with opportunities for self-development and professional growth; leniency and avoidance of tough messages will keep them back while others get ahead.

Welch is right when he says, in his metro Boston accent, lack of candor is a "killah", it's difficult to grow your company, if you're not growing the people within.