Candour and Feedback
Can difficult truths be spoken? Does performance information flow freely?
Caring relationships manifest through honest investment in each other's growth.
What We Measure
Whether difficult truths can be spoken and performance information flows freely. We surface whether the team can have honest conversations about what is and isn't working — and whether people invest in each other's growth.
Why It Matters
Candour is how caring relationships manifest: honest investment in each other's growth. Together with Belonging it produces Psychological Safety — Edmondson's condition for learning, voice, and innovation. Where candour is absent, problems stay hidden until they are expensive.
When It's Working
- Hard issues are raised early, not avoided
- Feedback is specific, frequent, and two-way
- People can disagree without it becoming personal
When It's Not
- Real concerns surface only in side conversations
- Feedback is saved up for formal reviews
- Bad news travels slowly, if at all
Connected Components
No component works in isolation. Candour and Feedback combines with others to produce Psychological Safety.
Assess Candour and Feedback in Your Team
See how your team scores on Candour and Feedback as part of a full team diagnostic across all 14 components.