You talk in the book as much about praise as you do about criticism. One of the things that I found really interesting was the point you made about how you should spend as much time researching giving someone praise as you did preparing to give someone criticism. You can get praise badly wrong and you can praise the wrong person, or even your own work. It's easy for your praise to come off as as patronizing if it doesn't tell them what to do more up next time how to improve.
Kim Scott: Radical Candor
Kim Scott is a co-founder of Candor, Inc. She has been an advisor at Dropbox, Kurbo, Qualtrics, ReelGoodApp, Rolltape, Shyp, Twitter, and several other Silicon Valley companies. She is the author of the book Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity*.
Key Points
Show you care at a personal level.
You can’t build a relationship that’s not personal.
In order to care personally for someone, you have to bring your whole self, not just your “business” persona.
Sometimes we get so focused on the work that we forget there’s actually a person doing the work.
Begin by soliciting feedback, not by giving it.
To get feedback, come up with a go-to question like “Is there anything I could do or stop doing that would make it easier to work with me?”
Resources Mentioned
Radical Candor* by Kim Scott
Radical Candor podcast
Book Notes
Download my highlights from Radical Candor in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
Start With Why, with Simon Sinek (episode 223)
How to Manage Abrasive Leaders, with Sharone Bar-David (episode 290)
How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 301)
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