How Designers Can Become Chief Communication Officers (Part 2)

But being empathic isn't the only skill to be a great friend. You also should be candid about difficult topics. This candor is something that comes natural to our closest friends but is difficult for everyone outside of our inner circle. If you're sitting there wondering how to figure out the level of candor you're able to have with someone, we've come up with a great little test. It's called the Poppy Seed Test. It works like this: Picture the person you're talking to and imagine that they just ate a delicious everything bagel, but now they've got a poppy seed stuck in their front teeth. Would you tell them? If you aren't that close with them, it'd probably be too awkward to bring up. But if they were a good friend, you'd tell them.

The reason we're so nervous to tell a stranger that they have poppy seeds in their teeth is because they might feel embarrassed and hurt by our comment. This potentially hurtful comment can make us feel like we don't have empathy for the other person; and thus we're nervous to be frank with them. This opposition begs the question: Is it more important for designers and innovators to be as candid as possible, or is it better to err on the side of empathy?

After some candid (and empathetic) debates between Ben and me, we were able to come up with three reasons why if you want to be the Chief Communication Officer the benefits of candor outweigh the risks of appearing like a jerk.

Psychological Safety

Many times people are afraid to reveal all parts of themselves to colleagues, often to the point that they actively work to keep certain things hidden. This can start off as simple as an off-handed comment with a teammate such as 'Yeah I watched the game last night' when in reality you were at a poetry reading. This seemingly very small white lie (in order to be empathetic) can balloon over time. Now instead of discussing the poetry you love, you're constantly talking about sports—all the while worrying about saying something to reveal the fact that you don't watch (or even like) sports.

This all-too-often occurrence brings us to the first benefit of candor. As Chief Communication Officer it's your job to foster a sense of trust within your team so that everyone can be candid with one another. At Google, they refer to this concept as 'psychological safety.' It essentially means that you feel safe enough to let your guard down and be yourself. Only when everyone on your team trusts each other can everyone feel safe enough to share fully who they really are. If people on your team are expending mental effort holding themselves in check, that's time and brainpower they're not spending on producing amazing innovations. What a waste.

'Psychological safety' does more for creativity than just free up brain power. It also creates space for people to take risks. As we've discussed before, people don't take risks if they're afraid. A team dynamic that lacks 'psychological safety' is a dynamic full of fear. A fearful team member does not take risks. They're too afraid that their experiment will fail and their teammates will judge them harshly for failing, rather than praising them for trying something bold. And yet, the best and biggest design breakthroughs often happen when we jump into the uncertain and unknown.

Building tools that support this kind of open communication can transform team dynamics. When teams have dedicated channels for feedback—whether anonymous suggestion systems or structured review processes—psychological safety becomes embedded in daily workflows rather than left to chance.

Reality Check

As an aspiring CCO, being candid is also critical to managing expectations throughout the innovation process. Undoubtedly throughout the process, questions about timeline and budgets will arise. It can be tempting in these situations to only give positive answers when in reality it's better to be candid about the situation. This means saying 'no' sometimes—something that I personally struggle with a lot. It can be tempting to say 'yes' to every assignment that's thrown your way. After all, you're trying to be as empathetic as possible so of course, you want to help! But by not being candid and telling your teammates you're too busy, you can end up slowing down the process.

Finally, we have to remember that managing expectations isn't just an internal issue. Oftentimes, we have a tendency to embellish or oversell our innovation to the people we're designing for. When this happens, we run the risk of setting the bar so high that no matter what we deliver, our users will be disappointed.

The same principle applies when building products and apps for your team or customers. Honest assessment of what's achievable within your timeline and resources prevents the disappointment that comes from overpromising. Modern AI-assisted tools can help here by generating realistic project foundations quickly, but the candor about scope and limitations still needs to come from human judgment.

Honest Feedback

The third and final reason for candor is also the most important. There are times when an idea just isn't working. As the Chief Communication Officer, you need to have the courage to be candid with your team about what's not going well. Without the balance between empathy and candor, you'll be very tempted to avoid the hard conversation about the problems your teammates are having with their project. And it's easy to see why. You don't want to hurt their feelings. You don't want to embarrass them. But hey, isn't that what friends are for? We're joking there, but in all honesty, you trust the people you're closest to be totally candid with you, even when it's awkward.

Candid feedback is crucial to the success of the team and ultimately the designs it's producing. Without that feedback, problems won't be addressed. People will continue down a bad path. Bad paths lead to bad designs and bad designs lead to bad outcomes—for everyone. Maybe your design will be sort of confusing, and then once it's released, it will lead to droves of frustrated users. Now you've got your users and the rest of your organization annoyed with you. Not good.

Consider what happens when feedback only flows through formal channels like annual reviews or scheduled one-on-ones. By the time issues surface, they've often festered into larger problems. Real-time feedback mechanisms—whether digital tools or cultural practices—catch problems early when they're still easy to address. Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play—making it possible for teams to quickly create custom feedback tools tailored to their specific communication needs.

This is where having the right tools matters. When building internal apps for team communication, features like anonymous feedback forms and structured review workflows can lower the barrier to honest input. People who might hesitate to speak up in a meeting often share valuable insights when given a safe, structured channel to do so.

Balance Builds Over Time

Being empathetic comes naturally to most of us. Candor, on the other hand, can be scary. The good news is that it gets easier the more we focus on both of them. If we think back to our stranger with the poppy seeds, the reason we were afraid was because we had never been empathetic to that person before, so any candid comment could make us appear like a rude person. However, the more situations in which we show empathy towards our fellow teammates, the less impact any one specific candid comment will have. This means as we build more and more trust in our organization, the easier it is to be candid.

Becoming the Chief Communication Officer is all about understanding, caring, and communicating. Within your team, it's vital to form deep bonds so everyone feels safe sharing who they are, their wild ideas, and their candid feedback. Within your organization, fostering the mindset of a friend can help you cultivate ideas and perspectives spread across various teams, who are, in the end, all working towards the same purpose.

Technology can support this journey. Teams that build custom internal tools—feedback apps, anonymous polling systems, or structured retrospective platforms—often find that the act of creating these systems together reinforces the culture of openness they're trying to build. When everyone has input on how feedback flows through the organization, they're more invested in using those channels honestly.

Putting Candor Into Practice

Understanding the value of candor is one thing; implementing it systematically is another. Many organizations struggle not because their people lack the will to be honest, but because they lack the infrastructure to make honest communication easy and safe.

Consider what happens when feedback only flows through formal channels like annual reviews or scheduled one-on-ones. By the time issues surface, they've often festered into larger problems. Real-time feedback mechanisms—whether digital tools or cultural practices—catch problems early when they're still easy to address.

The most effective teams create multiple pathways for candor. Some feedback works best face-to-face. Other feedback—especially the kind that might feel risky to share—benefits from anonymity or asynchronous delivery. Building these varied channels doesn't mean avoiding difficult conversations; it means ensuring that important information reaches the people who need it, regardless of how comfortable the messenger feels delivering it in person.

Ada, Adalo's AI builder, lets you describe what you want and generates your app. Magic Start creates complete app foundations from a description, while Magic Add adds features through natural language.

Adalo, an AI-powered app builder, makes creating these internal communication tools accessible to non-technical team members. With Magic Start, you can describe the feedback system you need—"an anonymous suggestion box with voting and management response tracking"—and generate a working foundation in minutes. This democratizes the ability to build psychological safety infrastructure, putting it in the hands of the people who understand their team's needs best.

The Long-Term Payoff

Teams that master the balance between empathy and candor don't just communicate better—they innovate faster. When people feel safe to share half-formed ideas, to admit when something isn't working, and to challenge assumptions without fear of social consequences, the entire creative process accelerates.

This isn't just theory. Research consistently shows that psychologically safe teams outperform their peers on measures of creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability. The investment in building trust and communication infrastructure pays dividends across every project the team undertakes.

The key insight is that candor and empathy aren't opposites—they're complementary skills that reinforce each other. The more empathy you demonstrate over time, the more license you earn to be candid when it matters. And the more candid you are about important issues, the more your teammates trust that you have their best interests at heart.

I'd like to end on an inspirational quote from one of my favorite books, Creativity, Inc.:

"Candor isn't cruel. It does not destroy. On the contrary, any successful feedback system is built on empathy, on the idea that we are all in this together, that we understand your pain because we've experienced it ourselves." - Ed Catmull, President of Pixar

FAQ

Why choose Adalo over other app building solutions?

Adalo is an AI-powered app builder that creates true native iOS and Android apps from a single codebase. Unlike web wrappers, it compiles to native code and publishes directly to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. With unlimited database records on paid plans and no usage-based charges, you can build team communication tools that scale without unexpected costs.

What's the fastest way to build and publish an app to the App Store?

Adalo's drag-and-drop interface and AI-assisted building let you go from idea to published app in days rather than months. Magic Start generates complete app foundations from simple descriptions, and Adalo handles the complex App Store submission process—certificates, provisioning profiles, and store guidelines—so you can focus on your app's features.

Can I easily build team collaboration features that encourage candid feedback?

Yes, with Adalo you can build custom feedback forms, anonymous suggestion boxes, voting systems, and team communication channels. Magic Add lets you describe features in natural language—"add an anonymous feedback form with upvoting"—and generates the functionality automatically, making it easy to create tools that foster psychological safety.

What is the Poppy Seed Test and how does it relate to team communication?

The Poppy Seed Test is a simple way to gauge your candor level with someone—would you tell them if they had a poppy seed stuck in their teeth? If yes, you have the trust needed for honest communication. This principle applies to team dynamics where psychological safety enables candid feedback essential for innovation.

What is psychological safety and why does it matter for creative teams?

Psychological safety means feeling safe enough to let your guard down and be yourself with your team. Google found it's crucial for high-performing teams because it frees up mental energy for innovation and creates space for people to take risks without fear of harsh judgment for failures.

How do I balance empathy and candor when giving feedback?

The key is building trust over time through consistent empathy, which makes candid comments less likely to seem rude. As Ed Catmull of Pixar said, candor isn't cruel—successful feedback systems are built on empathy and the understanding that everyone is working toward the same goals together.

Why is honest feedback important for design and innovation projects?

Without candid feedback, problems go unaddressed and teams continue down bad paths leading to poor designs and frustrated users. Being willing to share critical feedback—even when it's uncomfortable—saves time, money, and protects your organization's reputation in the long run.

How long does it take to build a team feedback app?

With Adalo's visual builder—described as "easy as PowerPoint"—and AI-assisted features like Magic Start, you can create a functional team feedback app in hours rather than weeks. The platform handles database structure, user authentication, and app logic automatically based on your description.

Do I need coding experience to build internal team tools?

No coding experience is required. Adalo's drag-and-drop interface and AI Builder let non-technical team members create sophisticated apps. Over 3 million apps have been built on the platform by users of all technical backgrounds.