Candor Candor is a core practice of continuous learning and reflection. It’s the ability to communicate openly, share diverse perspectives, and address difficult truths in search of meaningful solutions. 29 Deliberate Leaders who embrace candor create environments where honesty is valued and where individuals feel empowered to speak openly. This transparency fosters trust, drives improvement, and challenges the status quo. In a culture of candor, leaders aren’t afraid to name the elephants in the room and confront the difficult issues that others might shy away from. 30 The concept of candor and speaking openly about lessons learned was at times difficult for interviewees. As one person explained, “saving face,” or 面子 ( mentsu ) or kao wo tateru ( 顔を立てる ), protecting one’s own and other’s reputations and social standing, conflicts with Western culture’s emphasis on being direct. Saving face is a core principle emphasizing social harmony and avoiding causing someone embarrassment or humiliation. In this case, some interviewees tried to avoid direct criticism or feedback about challenges. They also felt that perceived negative feedback could jeopardize a relationship with a partner investor. Such was the case with A0 and SIIF staff. Only after A0 agreed to openly discuss their difficulties in their nature-based business did SIIF staff feel comfortable providing information about challenges. There were also examples of candor in every chapter. On the critical topic of defining impacts, two Deliberate Leaders honestly share the emerging definitions of the term “impact .” In the Impact chapter, Chunmei Huang of Impact Capital explains, “We have a large and growing impact ecosystem of investors and an IMM infrastructure in place. Yet answering ‘what is impact’ is very hard. It is the next chapter of our work—define with clarity what we mean by impact.” 31 Nanako Kudo, SIIF executive, goes one step further when asked the same questions. She responds, “Is impact investing really making an impact? The answer would be, no, not yet. The market has grown so much...more than expected and much faster than expected...Huge money is flowing to impact investing, but if we look at the situation of social issues, I don’t think there is enough progress or enough change on the ground comparing to the amount of money flowing.” 32 In the case study Women as an Economic Driver, candor takes center stage as women openly share their experiences navigating a male-dominated culture. For example, when Chunmei Huang and Sayaka Takatsuka co-founded Impact Capital and introduced their
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Ten Years in the Making
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