Nuance is a Naughty Word (or whatever happened to candor)?
By Jack Ruffer

Like me, you probably remember hearing an awful lot about “nuance” during the run-up to the last general election. According to the so called “mainstream media”, one candidate had it (was ‘nuanced”), the other didn’t (apparently no “nuance” at all). “Gravitas” was another quality (used in relation to substance or weightiness) they were thought not to share. Saving “gravitas” for another day, I was confused. I thought I knew what nuance meant, but by implication, I was hearing a wholly new definition, so I did what most of us do nowadays. I went on line to find a dictionary with the current definition (word meanings change over time based upon contemporary usage):

According to www.Dictionary.com

nu·ance    n.

1.  A subtle or slight degree of difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation.
2.  Expression or appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone: a rich artistic performance, full of nuance.

nu'anced    adj.

Synonyms: nuance, gradation, shade

These nouns denote a slight variation or differentiation between nearly identical entities: sensitive to delicate nuances of style; gradations of feeling from infatuation to deep affection; subtle shades of meaning.

Nuance   n: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude; "without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor"; "don't argue about shades of meaning".

Now I have a great appreciation for the English language. Both my grandmothers and my sister were English teachers and I had long admired the range of their vocabularies so please don’t misunderstand. Words mean things and the more exact you can be with the words you choose, the better. That said, I happened to see Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of General Electric, on TV a few months ago hawking his latest book, “Straight from the Gut”, in which he attempts to tell us what it takes to be a successful CEO (manager). Candor is one of the points he makes most emphatically. I checked the same on line dictionary for “candor” too but this definition hasn’t changed. It is as I remember it:

can·dor    n.

1.  Frankness or sincerity of expression; openness.
2.  Freedom from prejudice; impartiality.

Candor

n 1: ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty [syn: fairness, fair-mindedness] [ant: unfairness] 2: the quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech [syn: candidness, frankness, forthrightness]

Without taking political sides this nuance stuff reminds me of the way careers were ended in my first vocation. As the saying went, you kill them with kindness (aka, the ho-hum review). The career advancement process (if I must use candor here, the correct title was promotion boards) were very competitive. Since ratings over time had become inflated, unless it was clear the reviewee walked on water (figuratively speaking), their “employment contract” was not going to be renewed. The ho-hum review was a career killer. To avoid unhappy encounters or confrontations with the reviewee, words or phrases were often used that camouflaged their real meaning and the intent of the reviewer. As nuance was applied nothing was right or wrong, i.e. black or white, but rather one of a thousand hues of gray, and usually a hue of gray the reviewee had never heard of and couldn’t rate on a hierarchy.

In essence, it was substituting a euphemism or nice sounding word or phrase when you really meant someone is not “cutting it” or is “failing”. Such a practice has two real and undesirable consequences. 1. The employee won’t understand how poorly they are actually doing, and 2. If terminated, the chance that a wrongful termination lawsuit will be successful is greatly enhanced.

You can be candid, but fair and impartial. “Nuance” (being nuanced) can get you into trouble.