The Radical Candor Podcast

In this episode of the Radical Candor podcast Kim and Jason answer listener questions and share their experiences about being a boss who’s younger than their direct reports and having their wings clipped by an absentee manager who isn’t invested in their success. They also agree that chair-throwing management styles aren’t an effective way to get things done (as Kim learned when she threw her bike helmet at a window when dealing with a bad boss at a former job). While command-and-control workplaces make for great fiction (and podcast stories), they’re awful in real life. Press play for actionable advice on how to move from command and control to collaboration.

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Our podcast series, “Radically Candid Conversations,” features experts and guests who help us learn, reflect and put our insights into action. This episode of the Radical Candor podcast features Annie Jean-Baptiste, head of product inclusion at Google and author of Building For Everyone: Expand Your Market With Design Practices From Google’s Product Inclusion Team. Kim and Annie discuss how to build inclusive products, teams and experiences by focusing on 12 areas of intersectionality: age, race, ability, culture, socioeconomic status, religion, geography, sexual orientation, gender, education, ethnicity and language.

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If someone has approached you and said, “In the spirit of Radical Candor …” and then proceeded to act like a total jerk, you’ve experienced how some people use Radical Candor to justify being their worst selves. This behavior is not Radical Candor; it’s what we call Obnoxious Aggression. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy agree that nobody should have to pay the asshole tax or work for a seagull swoop-and-poop boss. They also explain why “Radical” Candor is actually Compassionate Candor versus a license to act like a jerk.

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If you’re a boss, 1:1 meetings with your direct reports are a must-do. The purpose of a 1:1 meeting is to listen and clarify — to understand what direction each person working for you wants to head in, and what is blocking them. These meetings are your single best opportunity to listen, really listen, to the people on your team to make sure you understand their perspective on what’s working and what’s not working. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Amy and Jason spill the tea about how to have effective 1:1s, even when you can’t be together in person, and Kim sings a few notes from the Hall & Oates song “One On One.”

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Being the boss doesn’t mean you automatically get respect from people, but the authority does have an automatic impact on what people will say to you. Unfortunately, people are primed to mistrust you based on all the preconceived notions against bosses. As the boss, you’ll tend to get more flattery than critical feedback that can help you learn and grow. On this episode of the Radical Candor Podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy talk about how bosses can get real talk from employees by asking a go-to question.

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Feeling overwhelmed lately? You’re in good company. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy discuss how doing less can lead to more success. Kim recommends creating a proactive forbearance list where you list all of the things you’re not going to do. Instead of feeling guilty about not doing the things on your list, celebrate them. This allows you to focus on the things you actually need to get done now. In addition, Jason explains the spoon theory and Amy talks Radical Dandor.

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Radical Candor is a simple concept that’s not always easy to put into practice, and readers regularly reach out to us for advice about how to Care Personally and Challenge Directly. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Amy and Jason shed some light on how to give upwards feedback, how to give feedback to direct reports without making them develop a fear of coffee, how introverts can manage expectations about impromptu feedback, how to Care Personally about someone you have nothing in common with, and why everyone should be more curious about Carol.

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Our new podcast series, “Radically Candid Conversations,” features experts and guests who will help us learn, reflect and put our insights into action. This episode features Tiffani Lee, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight, who recently wrote in an article about addressing racial injustice for Law360: “Our response to the grave injustice of this moment must be informed by Radical Candor.”

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Our new series, “Radically Candid Conversations,” features experts and guests who will help us learn, reflect, and put our insights into action. Our first discussion with Kim Scott and Dr. A. Breeze Harper, Ph.D., a diversity and inclusion strategist, antiracism scholar and facilitator, explores how to practice Radical Candor when addressing systemic racism; the historical origins and research-based understanding of white, racialized consciousness; what it means to be antiracist and how to practice anti-racism, and how we can be antiracist leaders, parents and citizens.

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In its most basic form, Radical Candor is a framework to facilitate communication that is kind, clear, specific and sincere. It’s about being able to Care Personally and Challenge Directly at the same time. While this kind of communication is always important for building trust and maintaining relationships, it’s even more important during a crisis when anxieties are heightened and everything is uncertain. Kim, Jason and Amy unpack how to Challenge Directly during a crisis without losing your humanity.

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