There's feedback and there's guidance; there's praise and there's criticism. All of it is important to do better work, but to develop a better and more productive workplace and relationships -- especially given how much time we spend at work! -- the way we give and receive feedback really matters. "One of the great things about having a great boss," observes Kim Scott, "is that a great boss will help you grow as a person. And for a lot of people, a big part of what gives work meaning is personal growth." That's another reason why feedback matters. But doesn't so much feedback take too much time when you're busy building things, especially in fast-growing startups where you're also focused on survival first? Or what if you're not so into the touchy-feely aspects of soliciting feedback? In fact, what is the best way to give feedback, so that you're not being obnoxiously aggressive or even worse, "ruinously empathetic"? You actually don't have to choose between those two things, argues Scott, because the answer lies somewhere in between, with "radical candor". Finally, how does this fit with other management wisdom around how much to develop someone -- or when to just "call it" and fire them? How does this affect women and under-represented minorities in the workplace? Or how about creatives, millennials, and remote workers? In this episode of the a16z Podcast, Sonal Chokshi explores these questions with Scott, who came out of Google, Apple University, and her own startups... and literally wrote the book on Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity.
Don’t just say “do you have any feedback for me?” #career #careercoach #executivecoach #feedback #radicalcandor radical candor book, how to ask for feedback, how to give feedback
Coming Soon | Radical Candor: from theory to practice with author Kim Scott #career #careercoach #radicalcandor #executivecoach #leadership radical candor book, leadership philosophy podcast, caring leaders
Kim Scott is the author of Radical Candor, currently the #1 most recommended book on this podcast. The book has sold over 1 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. Before writing, Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was also a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. This spring she’ll be launching Radical Respect, which she considers to be a prequel to Radical Candor. In today’s conversation, we go deep on Kim’s popular framework, including: • What separates radical candor and obnoxious aggression • Tactical advice on delivering constructive feedback • How well-meaning empathy can become ruinous • Strategies for effectively soliciting and responding to feedback • The importance of having regular career conversations • The false dichotomy of a good leader versus a kind person • A sneak peek into Radical Respect — Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams: https://atlassian.com/lenny/?utm_source=lennypodcast&utm_medium=paid-audio&utm_campaign=fy24q1-jpd-imc Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice Where to find Kim Scott: • X: https://twitter.com/kimballscott • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimm4/ • Website: https://www.radicalcandor.com/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Kim’s background (03:13) A brief overview of Radical Candor (06:46) How people fail with ruinous empathy, manipulative insincerity, and obnoxious aggression (08:37) The impact of radical candor on Kim’s life (14:16) How to communicate feedback effectively (20:34) A story illustrating the problem with ruinous empathy and manipulative insincerity (27:50) How to get over the need to be liked (31:31) How to have career conversations with your direct reports (29:40) Reflections on how Kim handled an underperforming employee (33:31) Best practices for soliciting feedback as a leader (35:53) How to respond to feedback (39:22) How often to ask for feedback (41:48) Whether or not to accept “no feedback” as an answer (50:48) Investing time in feedback (54:04) How to ask for feedback as an employee (57:42) Why obnoxious aggression is not the best way to deliver feedback (1:01:23) A notable example of problematic management (1:03:43) Why context matters when diagnosing obnoxious aggression (1:07:39) Empathy is a good thing, but empathy can paralyze (1:10:47) Reflections on the limitations of radical candor in a society riddled with biases (1:14:41) Kim’s new book, Radical Respect (1:15:51) Tactical advice to get better at radical candor (1:16:46) Lightning round Referenced: • Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509 • Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Respect-Work-Together-Better/dp/1250623766/ • The Office (American version) on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-office • Radical Candor diagram: https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/ • Career conversation templates: https://review.firstround.com/the-power-of-performance-reviews-use-this-system-to-become-a-better-manager/ • A behavioral scientist explains why we should reacquaint ourselves with the telephone: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/nicholas-epley-explains-why-phone-calls-can-connect-us-better-zoom • How to get promoted: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-get-promoted • When They Win, You Win: Being a Great Manager Is Simpler Than You Think: https://www.amazon.com/When-They-Win-You-Manager/dp/1250279666 • Peter Kazanjy on X: https://twitter.com/Kazanjy • Christa Quarles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christaquarles/ • Jason Rosoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-r-rosoff/ • Andrew Grove: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Grove • Columbo on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Columbo-Season-1/dp/B008SA89HA • Squid Game on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81040344 • Leveraging mentors to uplevel your career | Jules Walter (YouTube, Slack): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leveraging-mentors-to-uplevel-your-career-jules-walter-youtube-slack/ ...References continued at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.