News, Tips & Advice

  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Challenge Directly (2)

6 Key Lessons for Every New Manager

CONGRATULATIONS! You’re now a manager! You’ve worked hard, done well and been promoted to lead a team. That in and of itself is a HUGE accomplishment. But it’s only the beginning. Because now you need to figure out how the heck you’re going to...

Read More

Navigating Radical Candor and Cultural Differences

When talking about Radical Candor, I often get asked about how it applies to different cultures. Can Radical Candor be used for feedback and interactions across countries and cultures? Do you have to approach it differently for different cultures?...

Read More

The Financial Risks of Ignoring Feedback

Feedback is a critical, integral skill for success and growth in the workplace, not only for managers but for everyone. It’s very hard to give and receive feedback, and you may hate doing it. However, ignoring feedback (giving and getting it) can...

Read More

Fighting Bloviating BS with Radical Candor

Radical Candor can be applied not just in feedback conversations, but in all interactions. Think for example about Radical Candor during meetings, brainstorming, public relations, etc. Each of these types of communications have their own unique...

Read More

Video: Sam Adams and the FU Rule

When you’re the boss, it’s really hard to get people to tell you what they really think -- to be Radically Candid with you. Showing that you want feedback and genuinely appreciate it when it’s given is key. The worst thing you can do is to criticize...

Read More

How Can I Stop My Ruinous Empathy?

For those of you who are familiar with our Radical Candor framework, you’ll remember that Ruinous Empathy is in the upper left. High Care Personally, low Challenge Directly. It categorizes behavior in which someone is trying to be “nice” in an...

Read More

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

We've all been taught since we were kids, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." But now in the workplace, we need to hear when things aren't going well. We need people to tell us how we can do better, to go against...

Read More

'Solid' Praise Isn't Good Enough

‘Solid’ tends to be a neutral to slightly positive word. The times I’ve found it to be an effusive praise word, it’s been accompanied by a bunch of non-verbals: excited eyes, voice inflection, physical histrionics. You can hear someone saying it,...

Read More

Huey Lewis on Soliciting Radical Candor

A number of people have written in asking for advice on reacting to and soliciting feedback from their boss. The short answer is, try to make it easy for them to say what they're really thinking.

Read More

Radical Candor in "The Sound of Music"

We're starting a Media Fridays series where we'll show videos, songs, TV show clips, etc. that are fun examples of Radical Candor, Obnoxious Aggression, Ruinous Empathy, or Manipulative Insincerity.

Read More