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All 16 learnings · one per slide
Radical
Candor
Kim Scott, in bytes
16 key learnings on being a kick-ass boss without losing your humanity.
16 learnings · ~40 sec eachSwipe →
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Radical Candor, in bytes
16 key learnings from Kim Scott's framework for feedback and management: care personally while challenging directly. Each takes about 40 seconds to read. Swipe, use the arrows, or your keyboard.
Radical
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Learning 1
Care Personally, Challenge Directly
The idea
Radical Candor combines genuine care for people with willingness to tell them hard truths.
Example
Telling a colleague their presentation lost the audience, then helping them fix it.
Takeaway
Both matter at once.
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Learning 2 · Part 1
Sheryl Sandberg's Feedback
The story
Scott recalls Sheryl Sandberg telling her she said 'um' too much, and kindly but firmly urging her to fix it.
Why it worked
Sandberg showed she cared about Scott's success, so the criticism landed as help.
Takeaway
Direct feedback can be an act of care.
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Learning 3
Ruinous Empathy
The idea
Caring without challenging: avoiding hard feedback to be nice, which harms people.
Spot it
Praising weak work to avoid discomfort.
Takeaway
Silence to be kind is often unkind.
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Learning 4
Obnoxious Aggression
The idea
Challenging without caring: brutal honesty that hurts.
Example
Criticising someone in front of the whole team to make a point.
Takeaway
Harshness isn't candour.
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Learning 5
Manipulative Insincerity
The idea
Neither caring nor challenging: political, insincere praise and backstabbing.
Example
Praising someone to their face while criticising them behind their back.
Takeaway
The worst quadrant.
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Learning 6 · Part 1
Don't Make It About Personality
The idea
Say 'that's wrong' about work, not 'you're stupid'.
Example
'This report is missing the key numbers' rather than 'You're careless'.
Takeaway
Critique work, not people.
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Learning 7
Ask for Feedback First
The idea
Start by asking for criticism and rewarding it.
Why
Showing you can take criticism earns you the right to give it.
Try this
Ask: what could I do or stop doing to make it easier to work with me?
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Learning 8 · Part 2
Embrace the Discomfort
The idea
Wait through silence after asking for feedback; people need time to speak up.
Why
Silence pushes people past polite answers to honest ones.
Try this
Count to six after asking.
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Learning 9
Praise and Criticism
The idea
Give specific, sincere praise and timely, specific criticism, in private when critical.
Example
'Your summary of the data helped us decide quickly' beats 'great job'.
Takeaway
Specificity makes feedback useful.
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Learning 10 · Part 2
Gauge How It Lands
The idea
Feedback is measured at the listener's ear, not the speaker's mouth.
Example
Asking 'How did that come across?' after hard feedback.
Takeaway
Check understanding.
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Learning 11 · Part 2
Be Humble, Helpful, Immediate
The idea
Feedback should be humble, helpful, immediate, in person, in private for criticism, and about the issue not the person.
Example
A two-minute 'impromptu' chat after a meeting, not saved for a review.
Takeaway
HHIPP.
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Learning 12
Rock Stars and Superstars
The idea
Some people want steady excellence (rock stars), others rapid growth (superstars). Manage each accordingly.
Example
A brilliant engineer who wants to keep coding, not manage.
Takeaway
Not everyone wants promotion.
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Learning 13 · Part 2
Results Through Collaboration
The idea
Get stuff done wheel: listen, clarify, debate, decide, persuade, execute, learn.
Example
Letting people debate a decision before it's made, then persuading others of it.
Takeaway
Results come from process.
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Learning 14 · Part 2
Growth Management
The idea
Know what each person wants from their career and plan accordingly.
Example
Scott's 'career conversations' asking people about their life story and dreams.
Try this
Ask each report about their dreams.
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Learning 15 · Conclusion
Radical Candor Takes Practice
The idea
Scott admits she often fails, and urges readers to keep practising.
Example
Scott describes times she slipped into ruinous empathy herself.
Takeaway
Candour is a habit.
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Learning 16 · Conclusion
Build a Culture
The idea
Candour spreads when leaders model it and reward it.
Example
Leaders who publicly thank people for criticising them.
Takeaway
Culture starts at the top.
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All 16 learnings complete
That’s all 16 learnings.
Care personally, challenge directly. Who needs honest feedback from you this week?
Abhay Kumar JaiswalFCA · PMP® · Workday Financeabhayjaiswal.com
Summaries in my own words. Read the book for the full stories.
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Summaries are written in my own words for learning. Read Radical Candor by Kim Scott (2017) for the full stories. More Books in Bytes