All core values
Trust
Candor
Speaking directly, kindly, and usefully — especially when silence would be easier.
Behaviors
- Gives feedback in the moment, not during reviews
- Asks the question everyone is thinking
- Separates the problem from the person
Anti-patterns
- Brutal honesty that is mostly brutal
- Avoiding hard truths until they explode
- Using 'being nice' to dodge real feedback
Reinforce it with
- Regular 1:1s with feedback rituals
- Anonymous upward feedback
- Leadership modeling of public self-correction
Candor is the speed of trust in a conversation.