The Art of Radical Candour: A Management Consultant’s Secret Weapon

by Astrid Grant, Managing Consultant at Channel 3 Consulting

Apr 24, 2025

We are delighted to publish our first ‘learner-guest author’ today. Astrid Grant is a qualified doctor and Managing Consultant at Channel 3 Consulting, a digital health transformation consultancy who work with Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training. A few months back, Astrid attended a training event we ran for Channel 3 Consulting and was inspired to write about Radical Candour on LinkedIn. We love a lightbulb moment so asked her if she would be interested sharing hers here. Happily she said, ‘yes’!

If you’ve ever been a management consultant, you know the frustration: you spend weeks crafting the perfect strategy, presenting well-researched recommendations, and delivering advice that could change the trajectory of your client’s business. And then...they nod, smile, and proceed to do the exact opposite of what you suggested.

It stings. You pour your heart and soul into these projects, only to feel like a GPS that’s been set to mute - watching helplessly as your client barrels towards a dead end, ignoring every turn you advised them to take.

A friend of mine once described management consulting as sitting in the passenger seat of a car, giving clear directions, while the driver (your client) confidently speeds straight ahead - completely ignoring you. And yet, somehow, when they inevitably get lost, they turn to you and ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bridging the Communication Gap

As a Spaniard working in the UK, I had to learn a whole new way of communicating. In Spain, we like our conversations like our tapas - bold, direct, and full of flavour. In contrast, British workplace communication often involves more subtlety, polite cushioning, and reading between the lines. When I first arrived, I quickly realised that my direct style sometimes made people uncomfortable - what I considered clarity, they interpreted as bluntness.

When I encountered the Radical Candour concept in my training with Honeycomb, I saw it as a game-changer. It provided a framework that allowed me to be direct without being harsh and candid without being offensive. It gave me permission to channel my inner Spaniard without alarming my British colleagues!

What is Radical Candour?

Radical Candour, a concept popularised by Kim Scott, is about balancing caring personally with challenging directly. It’s not about being brutally honest or unnecessarily harsh - it’s about ensuring your feedback is clear and considerate. Think of it as tough love for the workplace: telling people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear while demonstrating that you genuinely care about their success.

The ‘Radical Candor’ framework by Kim Scott, from the book of the same name

This approach is particularly powerful in consulting. We often find ourselves in situations where we need to challenge our clients’ thinking and nudge them towards better decisions without damaging the relationship. If we’re too soft, our message gets lost. If we’re too blunt, we risk alienating the very people we’re trying to help.

Putting Radical Candour into Practice

In a recent engagement, my role was to assure the client that they were on the right path. The problem? They weren’t. And they hadn’t been for quite some time. I had been gently pointing out the root cause for months, but my words seemed to vanish into thin air. It was like whispering directions to someone wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

Once I started practising radical candour, everything changed. Instead of hinting at the problem, I stated it clearly and directly - but with empathy. Instead of letting frustration creep into my tone, I approached the conversation with genuine concern for their success.

And suddenly, they listened. Not only that - they acted. It was as if a light bulb went on, and they finally heard what I had been saying all along.

Why Radical Candour Works

1. It Builds Trust - When clients see that you care about their success, they are more receptive to constructive criticism.

2. It Cuts Through the Noise – In a world of corporate jargon and vague feedback, radical candour ensures your message is clear.

3. It Drives Action – People are more likely to change when they understand exactly what needs to be done and why it matters.

The Takeaway

Being a management consultant means guiding clients even when they don’t want to listen. It means balancing patience with persistence and diplomacy with directness. Radical candour is a powerful tool for ensuring that your advice doesn’t just get heard - it gets acted upon.

So the next time you find yourself in the passenger seat of a consulting engagement, watching your client speed towards a strategic pothole, remember this: speak up, be clear, and show that you care. Who knows? They might take that turn after all.