{"id":21949,"date":"2020-12-28T22:46:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T02:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=21949"},"modified":"2021-01-04T20:21:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T00:21:51","slug":"radical-candor-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/radical-candor-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Radical Candor Checklist for Growth Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you use Radical Candor<\/em> to help your team grow? Do you need a Radical Candor<\/em> checklist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help your team improve, you need to develop growth plans based on the kinds of employees they are. This Radical Candor<\/em> checklist focuses on making growth plans for each employee type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for a Radical Candor <\/em>checklist, as well as tips for dealing with different performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Radical Candor<\/em>: Tips for Understanding Different Types of Performers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before getting to the Radical Candor <\/em>checklist, it’s important to learn about the types of growth you’ll see. In learning about your team members, you learn more about their goals, their motivations, and the growth trajectory they\u2019re on\u2014this helps you support them in ways that keep them engaged with their work and satisfied with their team. There are five performance and growth trajectory combinations you\u2019ll come across:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

High performance with gradual growth: <\/strong>These team members are your \u201crock stars,\u201d the solid forces who keep things running smoothly. They aren\u2019t looking for significant growth\u2014perhaps because they\u2019re happy with their current position, or other things in their lives are taking their time and energy. Support these team members by recognizing their efforts and thanking them, and by remembering that they deserve stellar performance reviews as much as those who are on rapid growth trajectories and gunning for a promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High performance with rapid growth: <\/strong>These team members are your \u201csuperstars,\u201d who want to move up in the ranks and are prepared to dedicate the necessary time and energy to doing so. They\u2019re the results-driven people carrying your team to the next level. Support these team members by keeping them challenged with projects and new responsibilities, and by preparing them to continue moving up in their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low performance with expected rapid growth: <\/strong>These team members, based on their past track record of high performance, should <\/em>be excelling and taking on new projects, but are instead falling behind. Support these team members by first considering your management. Perhaps you\u2019ve put this person in a role that doesn\u2019t align with their skills, such as a people person on a numbers-crunching project. Be sure that they\u2019ve received adequate training and clear guidelines. Then, consider them.<\/em> If they seem to be having problems outside work, give them space to recover. If they\u2019re a poor cultural fit with your organization, it\u2019s best to let them go, rather than keep them in an environment that they\u2019ll always be at odds with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mediocre: <\/strong>These team members consistently do okay, but not great, work. <\/strong>It\u2019s crucial to your entire team that you figure out what the path forward should be for a mediocre employee\u2014otherwise, your high-performers will become resentful as they continually pick up her slack. Radically candid conversations will reveal the best way to support her\u2014either let her go so that she can thrive elsewhere, or give her space to get back on track towards high performance on her terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low performance with no growth: <\/strong>When someone is not performing well, and isn\u2019t showing any signs of future improvement, it\u2019s probably best to fire them\u2014doing so allows them to find a different job they\u2019ll thrive in, and your team won\u2019t have the burden of picking up their slack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Meaningful Growth Plans<\/strong>: Radical Candor <\/em>Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To build meaning into the work of your team members and figure out what growth trajectory they should be on, you need to discuss their goals\u2014this should take place in three parts according to the Radical Candor <\/em>checklist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The life story conversation: <\/strong>This conversation is essential to getting to know your employee personally. Ask about her life story, focusing on changes she made and why<\/em> these changes were made\u2014it\u2019s often here that you\u2019ll discover her values. <\/li>
  2. The dreams conversation:<\/strong> This conversation should help you understand what your employee ultimately wants out of her career and life, and how you can help her get there. <\/strong>It\u2019s important to frame this conversation around dreams<\/em> because it usually pushes people to name non-work goals, such as, \u201cI want to own a dude ranch in Colorado.\u201d It\u2019s possible that their dreams will <\/em>be work-related, such as, \u201cI want to retire at 50.\u201d Task her with figuring out the skills she\u2019ll need and rating her own competence in each skill. <\/li>
  3. The planning conversation: <\/strong>In this conversation, you should help your employee come up with a solid plan for achieving her dreams. Instead of focusing on telling her how to move up in your organization, focus on finding ways to make her current work clearly translate to preparation for her dreams. This makes her work more meaningful and rewarding. Think of projects that could develop necessary skills, or consider mentors or classes that would be helpful. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    When you take time to fully understand who each of your team members are and what their growth looks like, you build a team where everyone feels valued, promotions feel fair, and work feels meaningful\u2014naturally leading to higher motivation and better results. <\/strong>Use the Radical Candor <\/em>checklist to help you get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regularly Check In and Provide Growth Opportunities <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Alongside talking to your team members about their dreams and coming up with action plans, you should check in once a year on their professional performance and growth trajectory.<\/strong> This tells you if their needs are being met, how their work affects the team, and what their plan should look like moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are three parts to this exercise from the Radical Candor <\/em>checklist:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Draw five boxes and label them\u2014superstars, rock stars, mediocre, low performance with no growth, and low performance with expected rapid growth. Put your team members\u2019 names into their corresponding boxes. Don\u2019t hem and haw over this\u2014it shouldn\u2019t take more than 20 minutes. While doing so, keep an eye out for bias. Are your more senior members really superstars, or are they coasting on the work of the superstars under them? Ideally, your boxes will reflect excellent performance at all levels, with senior people showing more gradual growth and newer people showing rapid growth.<\/li>
    2. Come up with a short plan of opportunities and growth for each person\u2014if you\u2019ve been doing the work<\/a> of regularly checking in with them and thinking about their growth, this should only take about 20 minutes.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n