2 min read

Don't Criticize Your Employees In Public 6 | 7

Brandi Neal Feb 14, 2024 12:01:14 AM

Don't Criticize Your Employees In Public 6 | 7

Table of Contents

You've heard us say often that it's important to praise your employees in public (if they're comfortable with it) but to always give criticism in private. While there is almost always something for others to learn from an individual's mistake, criticizing or shaming them in public has been shown to make the person more likely to hide mistakes in the future, hurting them and the company. So how can we separate and honor our concern for the individual with the needs of the team?


Listen to the episode:

Radical Candor Podcast: Don't Criticize Your Employees In Public

Public praise isn't just about recognition; it's a catalyst for learning. When you pinpoint what was exceptional and why, publicly, it resonates more with the individual and enlightens the entire team.

For instance, instead of just saying, "Alex did a great job," specify: "Alex devised the plan for X and secured funding, boosting our efficiency by 85%. That means less tedious tasks and more exciting projects for all. Thank you, Alex!"

Private criticism is vital for empathy and clarity. Radical Candor isn't about "front-stabbing"; it's about delivering feedback kindly and directly in private.

Public criticism can come off as overly harsh. Private feedback is clearer and less likely to trigger defensiveness, making it easier for individuals to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them.

Great leaders avoid public criticism and discourage employees from doing the same. However, they actively welcome public criticism directed at them. Embracing public critique allows leaders to showcase gratitude for feedback and treat it as a valuable gift.

This approach not only saves time but also addresses potential concerns that others may share. Handling criticisms publicly enables a swift resolution for the entire team, making the process more efficient.

Given the limited availability on a boss's calendar, employees often have to seize the moment as it comes, even if it means addressing issues in public.

Radical Candor Podcast Checklist: Don't Criticize Your Employees In Public

  1. It's OK to offer a correction in public. For example, if you notice bias, flagging in the moment, especially if you're an upstander.
  2. Clarify the difference between criticism focused on personal development and healthy debate, which we want to encourage … personal development criticism should happen in private, debate can happen in public and should be focused on ideas versus people, egos or personality attributes.
  3. Don’t be afraid to talk about mistakes in public when they happen Leaders should not be afraid to own the mistakes on their team if others can benefit from learning about them.

Radical Candor Podcast Resources: Don't Criticize Your Employees In Public

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The Radical Candor Podcast is based on the book Radical Candor: Be A Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott.

Episodes are written and produced by Brandi Neal with script editing by Amy Sandler. The show features Radical Candor co-founders Kim Scott and Jason Rosoff and is hosted by Amy Sandler. Nick Carissimi is our audio engineer.

The Radical Candor Podcast theme music was composed by Cliff Goldmacher. Order his book: The Reason For The Rhymes: Mastering the Seven Essential Skills of Innovation by Learning to Write Songs.

 

Key Questions Covered

Why should you always criticize employees in private?

Public criticism tends to trigger defensiveness, making it harder for the person to actually hear and learn from the feedback. Worse, being shamed in front of others makes employees more likely to hide mistakes in the future — which hurts both them and the organization. Private feedback allows you to be direct and empathetic at the same time, which is the core of Radical Candor: caring personally while challenging directly.

Is there ever a situation where it's okay to correct someone publicly?

Yes — with an important distinction. It's acceptable to offer a correction in public when it's a matter of bias or fairness, especially if you're acting as an upstander in the moment. It's also fine to debate ideas publicly, as long as the focus stays on the idea and never on a person's ego or personality. Personal development feedback, however, should always happen in private.

How is public praise different from public criticism, and why does it matter?

Public praise, when done right, is a learning catalyst for the whole team — not just a pat on the back for the individual. The key is to be specific: instead of 'Great job, Alex,' explain what Alex did and why it mattered (e.g., 'Alex devised the plan for X and boosted our efficiency by 85%'). This specificity helps the whole team understand what excellence looks like. Public criticism, by contrast, triggers shame and defensiveness rather than learning.

How should leaders handle their own mistakes — publicly or privately?

Leaders should be willing to own their team's mistakes publicly when others can benefit from the lesson. They should also actively welcome public criticism directed at themselves, treating it as a valuable gift rather than an attack. Modeling openness to public feedback signals psychological safety and encourages the whole team to surface problems rather than hide them.

How do you share lessons from an individual's mistake with the whole team without publicly shaming that person?

The best approach is to separate the lesson from the person. A leader can take ownership of the mistake on the team's behalf, discuss what went wrong and what can be learned — without calling out the specific individual in front of others. Blameless postmortems are one useful format for this: the focus is on fixing the system or process, not on assigning personal blame.

What is the difference between personal development criticism and healthy debate under Radical Candor?

Personal development criticism is feedback aimed at helping an individual grow — it should always happen in private to protect dignity and reduce defensiveness. Healthy debate, on the other hand, is about ideas, not people, and can (and should) happen in public. The critical rule: debate must stay focused on the idea itself and never veer into attacks on someone's ego, personality, or character.

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