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
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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
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
