Radical Candor

The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss

Kim Scott
First Round Review © 2015
[@] getab.li/26008
Video:

Rating Take-Aways

9
10 Applicability • Two factors – readiness to “care personally” for others and readiness to “challenge
directly” – determine successful employee guidance. A great boss masters both traits.
7 Innovation
9 Style • “Radical candor” – the ability to offer frank criticism without creating an adversarial
relationship – is the most effective type of managerial interaction.

• Managers who excel at challenging directly but fall short in caring personally are
  “assholes.” Those who demonstrate neither trait illustrate “manipulative insincerity.”
Focus • The most common management mistakes occur as a result of “ruinous empathy,”
whereby leaders care about their workers but don’t challenge them.
Leadership & Management
Strategy • To foster radical candor at your organization, begin giving and receiving feedback after
Sales & Marketing
interactions with your employees, discourage “backstabbing,” facilitate ways for even
the most junior staffers to provide feedback, and prioritize your well-being.
Finance
Human Resources
IT, Production & Logistics
Career & Self-Development
Small Business
Economics & Politics
Industries
Global Business
Concepts & Trends

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getabstract

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Review
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Management consultant Kim Scott presents a delightfully candid talk on how to deliver feedback in order to nurture
employees. By sharing her personal management missteps and other anecdotes, Scott offers fresh, witty and useful
guidance that is applicable to neophyte and veteran leaders alike. getAbstract recommends Scott’s wisdom to human
resources personnel and to managers at all levels of the corporate hierarchy.
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Summary
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Praise and criticism are the building blocks of guidance, a manager’s primary duty. Good
bosses not only give guidance but solicit it for themselves and encourage it among their
employees. The best guidance occurs through “radical candor” – the ability to offer frank
“Guidance…is the
single most important criticism without creating an adversarial relationship. Management consultant Kim Scott
part of managing experienced radical candor when her boss pulled her aside after she had delivered a
people.”
presentation and informed her that her speech was littered with “ums,” which made her
“sound stupid.” Scott appreciated this blunt but constructive feedback.

Imagine a 2x2 matrix , whereby the y axis plots readiness to “care personally” for others
and the x axis plots readiness to “challenge directly.” Great leaders occupy the upper right-
hand quadrant, radical candor ; that is, they exhibit genuine care for their employees’ well-
being and recognize a “moral obligation” to challenge their workers. To exercise radical
“At the intersection of candor, be humble and helpful. Offer instant feedback that identifies flaws in a person’s
caring personally and actions, not his or her character. Be public when issuing praise but private when delivering
challenging directly is
radical candor.”
criticism. Managers who excel at challenging directly but fall short in caring personally are
“assholes .” Those who demonstrate neither trait illustrate “manipulative insincerity .”
Happily, few managers boast this Machiavellian style. Most managerial mistakes occur as a
result of “ruinous empathy ,” whereby leaders care about their workers but don’t challenge
them. These managers never dole out the constructive criticism their employees need to
improve. Take four steps to foster a culture of radical candor at your organization:

1. Seek “impromptu guidance ” – Introduce the radical candor matrix at your firm.
“One of the worst Solicit critique from your employees following each interaction.
things about managing
people is that you are
2. “Make backstabbing impossible ” – When dealing with combative employees,
going to learn your request that the foes work through problems with each other before coming to you. Never
most important lessons speak to one about the troubling issue in the absence of the other. When necessary, jump
and you are going
to make your most in to help the rivals reach a fair solution quickly.
important mistakes 3. “Make it easier to speak truth to power ” – To evaluate a middle manager, meet with
on the backs of other
people.” his or her direct reports as a group. Ask them how the manager could improve, and share
their suggestions with the manager to encourage behavioral change.
4. “Put your own oxygen mask on first ” – You can’t begin to care for others if you
don’t care for yourself. Prioritize your physical and mental health.
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About the Speaker
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Kim Scott is an author, entrepreneur and management consultant.

Radical Candor                                                                                                                                                                       getAbstract © 2017 2 of 2

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