Commendation for being awfully direct (6)
I believe the answer is:
credit
'commendation' is the definition.
(I know that credit is a type of commendation)
'awfully direct' is the wordplay.
'awfully' indicates anagramming the letters.
'direct' anagrammed gives 'CREDIT'.
'for being' is the link.
(Other definitions for credit that I've seen before include "Positive bank balance" , "Belief; tick" , "Add (an amount) to an account" , "Believe; acknowledgement" , "acknowledgement of liability" .)