Radical Candor: Communication at Work

The Radical Candor episode of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast, hosted by our friend Matt Abrahms, is up for the Webby award for Best Individual Podcast Episode in the Business category. We’re dropping it in this week so you can listen and we’re asking you to please vote for it at fastersmarter.io/webby. Voting is open until April 18th — let’s get that Webby! Vote and share it on social media to...

We’ve talked about knowing whether or not being a manager is right for you and manager burnout, but what if no one wants to be a manager at all? Kim, Jason, and Amy discuss the challenges and motivations for becoming a manager. They explore the survey results that show a lack of interest in people management, the reasons behind it, the role of middle managers, and the emotional labor involved in b...

Kim is fresh back from SXSW where she was hosting a live episode of her other podcast Radical Respect — you may notice some bonus episodes of it in your feed — and officially launching her forthcoming book Radical Respect, available for pre-order everywhere books are sold. The team also discusses mentorship, the benefits and drawbacks of conferences and retreats, and they each paint a picture of t...

Kim, Jason, and Amy discuss a listener's question about how to confront and disrupt bias in management at work for women working in male-dominated fields. Jason and Kim role-play a scenario where a manager is clearly biased and explain how to disrupt bias in the moment. They also discuss documenting incidents and when it's time to go to HR.Get all the show notes and resources at RadicalCandor.com/...

Amy and Jason engage in a thought-provoking conversation about the impact of AI at work in the realm of Radical Candor. They delve into the evolution of AI, its impressive and limiting aspects, and the challenges of its adoption. They also highlight the importance of interpersonal skills and domain expertise in the age of AI, and how it can be a game-changer in conflict resolution and communicatio...

Collaboration is probably the most used buzzword in the corporate world, yet it is often misunderstood. Vijaya Kaza, Chief Security Officer & Head of Engineering for Trust and Safety at Airbnb, joins Kim for a Radically Candid Conversation about Radical Collaboration. Get all of the resources and show notes at RadicalCandor.com/podcastAn impact and results-driven C-level technology and business ex...

This bonus episode is from the Radical Respect podcast with Kim Scott and Wesley Faulkner based on Kim's forthcoming book, Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better. On this episode, Kim and Wesley talk to workplace culture expert Denise Hamilton about her new book, Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future. Denise reads passages from her book, prompting some real convers...

Sixty percent of employers will reportedly send employees to “office etiquette” training in 2024. Whether it’s folks returning to the office after years of working remotely, or recent college grads without office experience — apparently people don’t know how to act around one another anymore. The team discusses the impact of decreased human interactions and the need to establish office behavior no...

Common human decency is something everyone deserves, but not everyone gets. Especially at work. Kim and Amy discuss a case study Kim learned about during a recent visit to Harvard Business School. In this case, the co-founders of CloudFlare considered the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months and whether or not the resignations were symptomatic of bigger issues w...

You've heard us say often that it's important to praise your employees in public (if they're comfortable with it) but to always give criticism in private. While there is almost always something for others to learn from an individual's mistake, criticizing or shaming them in public has been shown to make the person more likely to hide mistakes in the future, hurting them and the company. So how can...

For a podcast about communication at work, we sometimes use corporate jargon that doesn't always make sense—even to us. We disagree about corporate speak and what it means. Case in point, managing out. What does managing out mean? How do you know if you're being managed out? There’s definitely some misalignment on what “managing people out” means versus what it’s supposed to mean — maybe we need a...

Learn how the shift from command and control to a culture focused on collaboration. Stephen M.R. Covey joins us for our first Radically Candid Conversation of 2024 to discuss how trust-and-inspire leadership leads to happier teams, improved retention, increased productivity, and improved company culture because telling people what to do doesn't work. Get all of the show notes at RadicalCandor.com/...

Loud laborers talk big about their projects at work while accomplishing very little. Join us to explore the characteristics of these self-proclaimed workplace heroes, as they often gravitate toward tasks that boost visibility rather than genuine productivity. Discover the impact of "loud laborers" on team dynamics and how to navigate this common workplace scenario. Don't miss out on this insightfu...

Hey there you introvert in an extrovert culture — we see you! Extroverts are often overrepresented on management teams and many leaders are unsure how to coach, give feedback to, and advocate for a thoughtful introverted employee in a culture where multi-tasking extroverts are rewarded. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy answer a listener's question about how to comm...

Managers are burned out AF. A boss’s job is to guide a team to achieve results. However, in the current landscape of constant disruptions, this job is feeling impossible for some managers. What’s more, disengaged managers lead to disengaged teams. Is all hope lost? Kim, Amy and Jason weigh in. Get all of the show notes at RadicalCandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

What makes a good story and why do leaders need to know? Kim and Amy discuss storytelling at work, how our brains are wired for stories and why Kim focuses so much on stories in Radical Candor. Get all the show notes and resources at RadicalCandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holiday communication with your family can be rife with stress. But you can survive it by practicing Radical Candor with your nearest and dearest. this holiday season to avoid defaulting to Obnoxious Aggression, Manipulative Insincerity or Ruinous Empathy. Get all of the show notes and resources at RadicalCandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The team explores a year-end management dilemma — how to fairly evaluate a hot potato employee who's been bounced from team to team and manager to manager. They also reveal why everyone needs an "I love me" folder. Get the complete show notes at RadicalCandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn how to identify the elephant in the room when a direct report's performance isn't meeting expectations. Kim and Jason roleplay how to be kind and clear when delivering feedback to someone who'd rather not hear it. While it can be tempting to default to Ruinous Empathy, the team explains why it's important to double down on the challenge directly axis of Radical Candor instead. Read the show...

Can a “nice” workplace culture be as toxic as an abusive one? This past summer, our content intern Katie Bartlett (hi Katie!) wrote a piece about the workplace culture trend toward “niceness” investigating whether or not prioritizing “nice” feedback that’s full of vague platitudes over specific and sincere feedback that could make people uncomfortable is harmful. Is toxic positivity Ruinous Empath...

Management expert and former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo joins Kim for Managerial Musings. Kim and Dick answer listener questions, read between the lines and offer advice for your trickiest workplace problems. Get the show notes at RadicalCandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you become a manager? For folks who thrive on building a team and guiding others to achieve results, becoming a manager may be a dream come true. On the other hand, management could be a nightmare for high-performing individual contributors who are experts in their fields but have a low frustration tolerance for herding cats. How do you know if management is right for you? Kim and Jason dis...

The group talks about the making of MasterClass, strategies for managing cross-functional teams and how to get everyone home in time for dinner. Kim, Jason and Amy welcome two very special guests, Ezra Rose and Davis Carter. Ezra and Davis were integral in the production of the Radical Candor Sessions by MasterClass. Get the show notes at RadicalCandpr.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices....

Feedback vs. feedforward — both of these words are well-intentioned euphemisms that tend toward either Ruinous Empathy or Manipulative Insincerity. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy discuss the trend of prioritizing future-focused feedforward over backward-looking feedback. Kim has strong opinions on the words "feedforward" and "feedback." Tune in to find out why on...

In times of trauma, it’s all about care personally. This is not the moment to challenge directly. Or to make policy pronouncements, especially if that’s not your job. On this episode of the Radical Candor podcast, Kim, Jason and Amy discuss leading with compassion amid the chaos and catastrophe in Israel and Gaza. See the show notes at radicalcandor.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...