223: Kim Malone Scott - Using Radical Candor To Be A Great Boss

Sep 17, 2017

Kim Malone Scott, a leadership coach and author of Radical Candor, shares insights on effective management. She emphasizes the importance of honesty over popularity and discusses the pitfalls of 'ruinous empathy.' Kim details her Radical Candor framework, highlighting how to create a culture of trust and open feedback. She also advises on asking for feedback, embracing discomfort, and the value of dedicated thinking time. With practical tips for leaders, she underscores that being a great boss means caring genuinely while challenging directly.

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INSIGHT

Care And Challenge Together

Great bosses both care personally and challenge directly at the same time.
Caring without challenging leads to poor performance and stagnation.

ANECDOTE

Hiring Mistake That Became Painful

Kim hired "Bob," who was charming but produced terrible work and used drugs during the day.
Kim delayed honest feedback for 10 months and then had to fire him, which devastated Bob.

ADVICE

Practice Radical Candor

Do both: show you care and challenge people directly to practice Radical Candor.
Avoid ruinous empathy, manipulative insincerity, and obnoxious aggression by balancing both dimensions.

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The Learning Leader Show

223: Kim Malone Scott - Using Radical Candor To Be A Great Boss

"It is important for leaders to be learners, not tellers."

Show Notes:

Sustained Excellence. Common Themes of Leaders who Sustain Excellence:
- They care about their people as humans, they care personally
- They are honest, not worried about being liked all the time, they are willing to challenge directly
Can you be both liked and respected?
- Yes, but you shouldn't strive to be popular
Jony Ive and Steve Jobs story -- Steve told them the team their work was of poor quality. Jony said, "Why were you so harsh Steve?" Steve asked, "Why didn't you tell them the work was bad? It's your job to do that." Jony replied, "I didn't want them to be upset or distraught." Steve said, "You are vain. You just want to be liked."
The biggest mistake new bosses make is trying to be liked by everyone and NOT being direct.
Your employees should never have to say, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" -- A great boss gives directly feedback in a timely manner
A great boss creates an environment where everyone can tell the truth (up, down, and sideways in an organization)
Understand the framework
How to created this culture?
- Start by asking for feedback. You can't give feedback if you're not willing to take it.
- Go to question: "What could I be doing to make it better for you?"
- Use a "Start, Stop, Continue" exercise
Create a "Speak Truth To Power" environment
Embrace the discomfort
"Listen with the intent to understand... Not just waiting to talk."
Must reward the candor -- When you receive good feedback, you must implement it. You must fix the problem.
Google/Sheryl Sandberg story
- Sheryl's feedback: "You said "um" a lot during that presentation, would you like a speech coach?" -- "No, I'm fine, thanks." -- "Kim, when you say "um" every third word, it makes you sound stupid."
  - Sheryl knew she need to be very direct with Kim and they built a relationship of trust and care. That's the only way she was able to get through to Kim and help her
Hiring is the most important decision you will make as a leader
- "If you're not dying to work with that person, don't hire them"
- Steve Jobs - "It's better to have a hole than an asshole"
- Dick Costolo - "You can't just hire great people and get out of their way. You must invest time in helping them, develop them even more."
Jony Ive - "New ideas are fragile. You must create space to talk about them."
"Your job as the boss isn't to be the decider, it's to make sure everyone knows who the decider is."
The Wright Brothers -- Watching birds for hours --> Learning how to build wings for human airplane flight
Dick Costolo -- Build in 2 hours of "think time" per day in your calendar
Career advice:
- "Quit talk of building a great resume, build a great life"
- Find people to have career talks with... Recount your life story with them. Zero in on changes you've made. Think "What motivates you about work?" Understand what drives you, what matters, why? -- Think about your dreams... Make sure your dreams and values are in alignment. Create a plan
"It is important for leaders to be learners, not tellers."

"When you say "Um" every third word, it makes you sound stupid." -- Sheryl Sandberg's direct feedback to Kim after a presentation to Larry & Sergei

Social Media:

Read: Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
Follow Kim on Twitter: @kimballscott
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

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