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Radical Candor in the Grocery Store
On Sunday I took my 8 year-old daughter to the grocery store after her Little League game to pick up something for dinner. She and I were both a little tired and grouchy, and beginning to snip at each other. She was cold and wanted to make it a quick trip; I shared, and magnified, her impatience. At one point we were in a narrow section between the olive bar and the bananas and my daughter stopped in her tracks,…
A Radical Candor Rollout: Interview with Gather
We recently got the chance to talk with another leader who has rolled out Radical Candor on his team, and we wanted to share his experiences with you. Nicholas Miller is the co-founder and CEO of Gather, a company creating event management software for restaurants and other venues. Here’s how he introduced Radical Candor at Gather, and how it has helped them evolve their feedback culture. How did you hear about Radical Candor, and how did you introduce it to…
How to Avoid Kicking Up
You may have heard the phrase “kissing up and kicking down,” which refers to the tendency of some people to try to please and flatter their bosses while taking out frustrations on the people who report to them. While this is a common behavior, I’ve found myself more likely to do the opposite. Here’s a reader question I received about this: In the book, Kim talks about an instance where she "kicked up" with Larry Page. I'd like to think…
What to Do When a Peer’s Feedback Annoys You
We recently received a listener question about peer feedback, and it’s one that I come across often in conversations with readers. Russ and I talked about why peer feedback is so important in episode 23 of the podcast. Here, I’ll give some additional advice about how to approach peer feedback. ...this has to do with a part-time job in retail. I am 56 and have a coworker who is 22 or so. She has been there 3 years and I…
Send Your Boss Radical Candor
We often hear from fans of Radical Candor: “Gosh, I wish my boss would read this!” Or: “How can I tell my boss about Radical Candor without implying I think she’s bad at it?” We’ve said before that it can be risky to Challenge your boss Directly, even when you show you Care Personally. We’ve shared some tips on our podcast for giving feedback to your boss, but it’s definitely a tricky situation. Not everyone feels comfortable starting out this…
Reacting to Trump’s Bloviating BS with Radical Candor
Today I turn for inspiration to Daryl Davis, the R&B musician who helped persuade Roger Kelly, Imperial Wizard, to quit the KKK. “While you are actively learning about someone else you are passively teaching them about yourself. So if you have an adversary, an opponent with a opposing point of view, give that person a platform. Allow them to air that point of view regardless of how extreme it may be. And believe me I’ve heard some things so extreme…
An Open Letter to James Damore
James, you’ve touched the third rail that is gender. I’m writing not to add to the abuse pouring down on you, but because I believe that third rail is hurting not just you but all of us. I’m writing an open letter because I know that there are a lot of others who believe what you believe but are remaining silent. I think this stuff is better out in the open. I’ll admit as a liberal, a woman, and a…
Roll Out Radical Candor on Your Team
A number of you have asked how to roll out Radical Candor on your team. How can you get started with some of the ideas from the book and the podcast as a group? Last year, I wrote an Advice Column post answering a CEO's question about introducing the concepts and starting to build a Radically Candid culture. But let's get more specific. Here are a few simple things you can do: 1) Start a book discussion group. Have your…
Video: Why to Avoid “Don’t Take it Personally”
It's hard to take general management and feedback advice and visualize how to apply it in real-life situations. Some Radical Candor readers have mentioned to Kim that it would be helpful to see various feedback and management scenarios acted out. So she and Eleanor Scott did this fun improv role play to help with one of Kim's pieces of advice: Eliminate the words "Don't take it personally" from your vocabulary. Here's why it's such a bad idea to say, "Don't…
A Big Change for Candor, Inc.
This year was a big year for Candor, Inc. We launched a podcast, Radical Candor: How Not To Hate the Boss You Have or Be the Boss You Hate. We also launched a new app, the Candor Coach. It was also a big year for me personally. In March, my book Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity was published, after four years spent writing it, and it hit both the New York Times and the Wall…
Civil discourse: try some with your beer this 4th of July!
Civil discourse and Radical Candor in our country have been dealt a heavy blow by an innocent sounding phrase: “politics divides.” These two words have silenced millions of small conversations that should have happened, and resulted in a political food fight very few of us are enjoying. The phrase "politics divides" has silenced us at work, and even around our own dinner tables. It's caused us to turn our minds off, and to leave those hard issues to others. That phrase, “politics divides,” may…
A good woman decides to become a boss!!
This note from a nurse-midwife who decided to become a manager made our week. When a really good person decides to become a manager, the world becomes a better place. It's not only managerial leverage, it's good person leverage! Hi Kim and Russ, I am a nurse-midwife who long ago chose to "move up the ladder" in health care by becoming a clinician rather than going into management. Well, soon it will be my turn to join management as first…
Give Praise That Isn’t Patronizing
Praise usually seems much easier than criticism, but a lot of people actually hesitate to give praise. They worry about coming across as patronizing, pandering, or just insincere. We think that praise is even more important than criticism, so we want to help people learn to give it the right way. https://twitter.com/candor/status/870311268208521216 Here’s a question we got from one of our podcast listeners: I am a new manager of two administrative employees. Their day-to-day tasks are important to my team.…
Podcast Episode 23: Can I Give Feedback to Peers? Should I?
The purpose of feedback is to help people find more success, so it’s CRAZY to think it’s only the manager’s job to give feedback. It’s everyone’s job! In this episode, Kim and Russ share stories and advice for giving feedback to your peers... and avoiding the pitfalls. Listen to the episode: This Episode at a Glance This is the last episode of the first season of Radical Candor! Kim and Russ start off with some stories about feedback systems they've…
How to Turn Feedback into Something You Can Act On
Hopefully you’re out there asking for and getting feedback regularly. That’s great! Now, if you’re getting a lot of feedback, we can pretty much guarantee that it won’t all be high quality, actionable stuff. We’ve said before, “Don’t criticize the criticism,” and we’ve talked about what to do if you disagree with the feedback. But what about feedback that you’re not sure what it means, or how to act on? What do you do with that? We recently got this…
Podcast Episode 22: It’s About Humans, Not Resources
Do you ever get so caught up in achieving results at work that you forget that the people around you are real people? Even the most empathetic of us can make this mistake. This episode, Kim and Russ are joined by guest Al Guido, President of the San Francisco 49ers, to share stories and advice for putting the human back in human resources. Listen now! In This Episode Kim and Russ kick off the episode with a discussion of why…
A Great Start to a Radical Candor Journey
A few weeks ago, we received an amazing email from Samir Sagar, Director at Manubhai Jewellers. He had shared some of our blog posts and videos with his team several weeks prior, and on the day of the email to us, had held a meeting with his five direct reports to ask for feedback. I told my team that I am at fault for not creating an atmosphere in which they can bring their honest feedback ...and that I never…
Podcast Episode 21: More Time Hiring = Less Time Firing
Building a great team is critical for bosses, but how do you bring on the right people? Interviewing and hiring is so hard to do -- in this episode, Kim and Russ share some of their mistakes, what they've learned, and advice for a better hiring process. Listen to the episode: The Episode at a Glance A lot of listeners have written in to ask about their challenges with interviewing and hiring. Kim and Russ know it's a really difficult…
What If You Need to Interrupt?
In episode 12 of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim and Russ talked about how to give feedback to someone who frequently interrupts in meetings. Then a few weeks ago, we also shared advice for how to stop your own habit of interrupting. There’s one more question we’ve been getting about this topic...What if you need to interrupt someone? How do you go about gently telling a person that's speaking for way too long in a meeting, that his time's up?…
Podcast Episode 20: Help! My Boss is an Absentee Manager
Absentee managers may not be as frustrating as micromanagers, but they're even more common and can have a negative impact on your career. Kim and Russ share stories of absentee managers, talk about whether to just make do with this type of boss, and give their tips for what to do when you find yourself with an absentee manager. Listen to the episode: In This Episode Russ and Kim have heard loads of stories about absentee managers. The episode starts…