It’s a liberating feeling to know I can express how I truly feel about the people I work with, to their face. And to know that they’ll return the favour.
I remember reading Ray Dalio’s Principles and the concept of radical candor as a management principle. It takes a certain strength of character and a humility of mind to both speak so and to listen to it. And I’m grateful for the group of humans – I will call them friends rather than colleagues – that I get to spend my days with.
I truly love working with them because they see the world differently to how I do, yet want to create a future that I want too. We discuss, argue, oppose, interject, play devil’s advocate, and a thousand other things but I’ve discovered over time that we never question intent. We share our individual challenges, and potential ways around them. We ask for help. We treat each other with respect, and people around us too. We know we don’t know most things, so we continue to have fun while we get mud on our faces and learn.
Knowing someone’s got your back, and that they’ll call out your bullshit to your face without trampling your identity, is a wonderful sense. It might last only as only as this group is together, but we’ve learnt how to create this from scratch. Several times over.
That I think is worth celebrating.