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Reference revision: 47444acc70ebdebf73d3167330916da141807915d7f094d419b05f827b09f6fe

# Radical Candor Workshop

Participants map their default feedback styles onto the Radical Candor grid and rehearse difficult workplace feedback conversations in pairs and triads using a structured five-part script.

**Time:** 120 minutes. Source specifies a 120-minute full interactive workshop.
**People:** 6 to 16. Individual reflection, simultaneous pairs, and triads with rotating roles (giver, receiver, observer). Any remainder of one or two people joins existing triads to form four-person groups with two observers.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Rehearse delivering balanced, direct feedback aloud using an explicit five-part frame and peer coaching.
**Use it when:** Use when a team needs a shared framework and safe practice to address difficult performance or communication issues constructively.
**Skip it when:** Skip during an active formal grievance investigation or acute interpersonal hostility where direct roleplay can escalate friction.

## Materials and tools

- 1 flipchart easel with paper pad and markers
- 1 packet of sticky notes per table
- 1 pen per participant
- 1 pad of scratch paper per table
- 1 printed Radical Candor Grid handout per participant
- 1 set of Scenario Cards per triad
- 1 printed Action Plan template per participant
- 1 roll of wall-safe masking tape to post flipchart sheets and scenario cards
- 1 digital countdown timer visible to the room

## Before participants arrive

1. Draw the two-by-two Radical Candor grid on a flipchart sheet (vertical axis: Care Personally; horizontal axis: Challenge Directly).
2. Label the four quadrants: Radical Candor (top-right), Obnoxious Aggression (bottom-right), Ruinous Empathy (top-left), Manipulative Insincerity (bottom-left).
3. Use masking tape to hang the grid flipchart sheet on the main wall.
4. Print copies of the Grid handout, Scenario Cards, and Action Plan templates.
5. Arrange chairs into open clusters suitable for simultaneous pairs and triads.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will practice giving feedback that pairs personal care with direct challenge. Feedback often creates hesitation because we worry about hurting feelings or sounding harsh. We will learn the four quadrants of Radical Candor, identify where we default under stress, and rehearse specific phrases aloud so you leave with an actionable plan for a real conversation. Everything shared in our practice stays in this room.

## How to run it

### 1. Welcome and Safety Agreements (10 minutes)

Deliver the opening script. Write two baseline agreements on the flipchart: keep practice confidential, and treat practice partners with care. Ask each person to state their name and one word describing how feedback feels to them. Record patterns on the flipchart. Stop once all participants have spoken.

### 2. Introduce the Radical Candor Model (20 minutes)

Present the grid on the flipchart. Define the two axes and four quadrants with one workplace example each. Hand out the Grid handout. Give participants 3 minutes to privately mark a quadrant where their recent feedback fell. Run simultaneous pairs: each person explains their example to their partner for 3 minutes (6 minutes total). Use the remaining 11 minutes to clarify the framework and answer up to 2 group questions.

### 3. Examine Patterns and Triggers (20 minutes)

Ask participants to work individually for 5 minutes with their handout, marking their default quadrant, their worst-case quadrant under pressure, and one personal trigger. Combine into small groups of 3 or 4. Have each person share their spots and trigger for 7 minutes total, writing triggers on sticky notes. Collect notes, tape them onto the flipchart quadrants, and spend 8 minutes discussing recurring group patterns.

### 4. Structured Feedback Practice (30 minutes)

Display the five-step feedback frame on the flipchart: 1. Care statement, 2. Observed behavior, 3. Impact, 4. Requested change, 5. Check-in question (2 minutes). Form simultaneous pairs. Person A practices delivering low-stakes feedback to Person B for 6 minutes, followed by partner reactions. Swap roles for 6 minutes. Give pairs 8 minutes total (4 minutes each) to recraft and restate one phrase aloud. Spend the final 8 minutes collecting 3 to 4 effective phrases on the flipchart.

### 5. Tough Conversations Triad Lab (25 minutes)

Form groups of three with rotating roles: Giver, Receiver, and Coach. If group size leaves one or two people extra, form four-person groups with two Coaches. Distribute Scenario Cards. Run three 7-minute rounds: Giver explains context to Coach for 1 minute, holds the conversation with Receiver for 4 minutes, and Coach provides 2 minutes of feedback on care and challenge. Rotate roles so all three members serve as Giver once. Spend the final 4 minutes having each group record one practical insight on scratch paper.

### 6. Action Commitments and Debrief (15 minutes)

Distribute Action Plan templates. Give participants 5 minutes of quiet writing to name one target person, set a date within 7 days, and write their first 30 seconds of dialogue. Have pairs read their 30-second opening statement aloud to each other for 4 minutes (2 minutes each). Spend the final 6 minutes leading the group debrief and collecting final one-word takeaways from up to 4 volunteers.


## Debrief questions

- What did you notice in your physical reactions as you delivered direct feedback aloud?
- Which quadrant do you default to under stress, and what phrase helps you pivot back to Radical Candor?
- What specific support or reminder will help you hold your planned conversation within the next week?

**Finished output:** Every participant completes a Personal Feedback Action Plan specifying a target conversation, a commitment date within 7 days, and a scripted 30-second opening statement.

## Remote

Run in video meeting software with breakout rooms. Screen share the Radical Candor grid and display the feedback frame. Run Steps 1, 2, and 3 framing in the main room. Use 2-person breakout rooms for Step 4 (12 minutes total, with a broadcast alert at 6 minutes to swap roles). Use 3-person breakout rooms for Step 5. Distribute editable digital documents or slides for the Grid and Action Plan.

## Hybrid

In-person attendees form in-person triads; remote participants form dedicated remote triads in virtual breakout rooms. Display the shared grid and feedback frame via a shared digital whiteboard so both room cohorts reference identical materials. Conduct debrief in the whole-group room using an open room microphone and chat window.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may use the provided neutral scenario cards if they do not wish to disclose real workplace situations.
- Any participant may opt out of roleplaying as the giver by taking on the observer or note-taker role within their triad.
- Written templates provide quiet processing time before speaking exercises.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant uses aggressive language during the challenge practice and justifies it as direct honesty.**

Intervene and point back to the Care Personally axis. Ask: 'What words can you add to show you want this person to succeed?'

**Participants pick scenarios that are too trivial to generate useful challenge.**

Direct them to select Scenario Card 1 or 2 from the participant materials, which contain clear stakes and measurable behavior.

**Triad groups run out of time before the observer can speak.**

Use the visual room timer and call out strict verbal checkpoints: 'One minute context over, begin roleplay now; roleplay complete, coach share feedback now.'


## Terms used here

- Radical Candor: A communication approach based on caring personally while challenging directly at the same time.
- Ruinous Empathy: Withholding necessary critique or sugarcoating feedback to avoid temporary discomfort or conflict.
- Obnoxious Aggression: Offering candid feedback without demonstrating personal care or support for the recipient.
- Manipulative Insincerity: Failing to challenge directly and failing to care, often manifested as false praise to someone's face and complaining behind their back.

## Participant material: Radical Candor Feedback Script and Grid Handout

RADICAL CANDOR GRID
Axes:
- Vertical: Care Personally (Low to High)
- Horizontal: Challenge Directly (Low to High)

Quadrants:
- High Care, High Challenge: RADICAL CANDOR (Clear, honest, supportive)
- Low Care, High Challenge: OBNOXIOUS AGGRESSION (Brutal, dismissive)
- High Care, Low Challenge: RUINOUS EMPATHY (Silent, sugarcoated, unhelpful)
- Low Care, Low Challenge: MANIPULATIVE INSINCERITY (Passive-aggressive, backstabbing)

FIVE-STEP FEEDBACK FRAME:
1. Care: State your positive intent ('I care about your work here and want our project to succeed.')
2. Observation: Describe specific observable facts without judgment ('In the last two client presentations, you interrupted the client twice while they were answering.')
3. Impact: State the concrete consequence ('It made the client stop sharing their concerns and created tension.')
4. Request: Clarify the expected change ('I need you to let them finish speaking completely before responding.')
5. Check-in: Ask for their perspective ('How does that land with you?')

## Participant material: Workplace Feedback Scenario Cards

CARD 1: Missed Deadlines
A dependable colleague has missed their delivery milestones on two consecutive project sprints without notifying the team in advance. Other team members had to work overtime to cover the deliverables.

CARD 2: Meeting Dominance
A peer speaks over quieter team members in weekly team meetings, cutting off questions before people finish their sentences. Several team members have stopped participating.

CARD 3: Inconsistent Work Quality
A team member submits written reports containing factual errors and unformatted data tables, requiring you to spend an extra hour cleaning up their work before executive distribution.

CARD 4: Disengagement in Planning
A colleague checks their phone and remains completely silent during collaborative planning sessions, but later questions decisions via private message.

## Participant material: Personal Feedback Action Plan

FEEDBACK ACTION PLAN

1. Relationship & Context:
Who is one person I need to have a clearer feedback conversation with?

2. Observed Behavior:
What is the specific, observable behavior I need to address? (Focus on facts, not motives):

3. Impact:
What is the concrete impact of this behavior on the team, work, or relationship?:

4. Scripting the First 30 Seconds:
Write the exact two or three opening sentences you will say (incorporating both care and direct challenge):

5. Commitment:
Date and time I will hold this conversation (within 7 days):
Who will I tell beforehand to keep myself accountable?:

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in WorkshopBank as 'Radical Candor Workshop', based on the Radical Candor framework developed by Kim Scott.

Retained the six-step sequence, 120-minute duration, 4-quadrant definitions, and pair/triad coaching mechanics from the WorkshopBank source. UWT adjusted Step 5 to provide three 7-minute rounds so that every triad member gets a turn as Giver, accounted for group remainders (remainders join triads to make four-person groups with dual observers), strictly balanced the internal timing of Steps 4 and 5, and kept each step instruction under the 90-word limit.

[WorkshopBank](https://workshopbank.com/tools/radical-candor-workshop)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/radical-candor-workshop-workshopbank/