What makes Radical Candor radical is that it’s a deviation from the norm, which tends to fall somewhere between acting like a jerk and avoiding confrontation altogether. The purpose of Radical Candor is to create a new normal where guidance is both...
Practicing Radical Candor with clients can feel tricky when “the client always knows best” is the unspoken rule. But avoiding hard truths risks slipping into Ruinous Empathy — caring without challenging — which helps no one in the long run.
Seven years ago, before launching Femgineer and having Kim Scott on FemgineerTV, I had to make my first sales hire for my second startup, BizeeBee. I had never hired a salesperson before. Most of my hiring experience had been with technical folks...
Kim shares a story about a time that she describes as the worst moment of her career. She learns a hard lesson after being Ruinously Empathetic with one of her employees for a period of several months. Although she Cares Personally and tries to be...
Have you ever held back from saying what you really thought at work because you didn't want to hurt someone's feelings? Have you seen something that needed improvement but didn't tell the person, figuring they would realize and fix it on their own?
Stephanie Usry cared personally about her co-worker -- she was one of her best friends! Because of this, Stephanie found herself in a tricky situation. She was so focused on showing that she Cared Personally that she missed the opportunity to help...
Many of us struggle with Ruinous Empathy. We want to build and maintain relationships with people, so we don't want to say things that upset them. But if you focus too much on caring personally and don't offer directly challenges when you see...
Praise can be Ruinously Empathetic when bosses try to be “nice” and get things wrong. Below are a few cautionary tales of how trying to make a person feel good without taking the time to understand the details of their work to challenge them...
If you think you've given criticism that was Ruinously Empathetic, check out these tips for moving towards Radical Candor!
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...