Early in my career, I co-founded a software company. Despite raising plenty of money, it failed, and looking back, a lot of that had to do with feedback: I didn't know how to get it, how to give praise that didn't feel patronizing or criticism that...
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I once led a workshop with the CEOs of several fast-growing tech companies. These were all leaders I respect enormously. Every single one of them had a story about having to fire an employee they really cared about but saying it so gently that the...
The gravitational pull of Ruinous Empathy is driven by the fact that our society has become polarized, making it harder for people on a team to trust one another. They quit talking to each other, sometimes for fear of retribution, sometimes for fear...
During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, wrote a manual for ordinary citizens living under enemy occupation. Declassified in 2008, it was called the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. Its advice for quietly...
People have been asking lately if we have ‘rebranded’ Radical Candor as Compassionate Candor. Nope. These terms are synonymous. Use whichever you prefer.
Developing trust is not simply a matter of "do x, y, and z, and you have a good relationship." Like all human bonds, the connections between bosses and the people who report to them are unpredictable and not subject to absolute rules.
Give your team a sense of autonomy and agency, and they can bring their best selves to work. You can guide your team to real results if you've built a trusting relationship with each person reporting to you, and there can only be real trust when...
The most important question, the question that goes to the heart of being a good boss, doesn’t usually get asked. An exception was Ryan Smith, the CEO of Qualtrics. I’d just started coaching him, and his first question to me was, “I have just hired...
How do you create a climate where trust can flourish? How do you create a climate in which Radically Candid relationships can flourish? Your role as boss is far more meaningful than the usual Dilbert stereotype.
What Do Bosses Actually Do? Given my line of work, I get asked by almost everyone I meet how to be a better boss/manager/leader. I get questions from the people who worked for me, the CEOs I coached, the people who attended a class I taught, or a...