When one of the world’s most powerful women tells you that you sound stupid it’s not going to be feedback that you’re likely to ignore.
While most of us would want to curl up and die of shame, Kim Scott took this verbal chastisement from Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg directly on the chin and it got her thinking about six of the most dreaded words you’ll hear at work – “Let me give you some feedback”.
What’s wrong with feedback? Nothing inherently as it’s supposed to be about embedding or improving behaviours and in every other part of our lives we readily ask for and accept feedback. So what is it about feedback at work that get’s us all defensive and uptight? Why does it often trigger a fight or flight response?
Welcome to the world of “radical candour”, a management philosophy described by NBC News as one of tech’s hottest new management trends. Radical candour at its core is providing guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, while also specific and sincere. So while you show that you care personally, you challenge directly. Think of it as the sweet spot between being aggressively obnoxious and ruinously empathetic.
Kim Scott is a former senior executive at Google and Apple and a CEO coach at tech firms such as Dropbox and Twitter. She is the author of two bestselling books, Just Work: How to root out bias, prejudice and bullying to build a kick-ass culture of inclusivity and now, Radical Candor – How to be a great boss without losing your humanity.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How Sheryl Sandberg’s direct feedback changed Kim Scott’s life
- The reason why most of us screw up when giving feedback and what to do about it
- What Kim means about caring personally but challenging directly
- Why managers and leaders are often left to work out how to ‘manage’ by trial and error
- The ruinous effects of not challenging and providing direct feedback
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A lively, entertaining and thought-provoking episode that will genuinely give you the confidence to provide feedback to get the outcome you want by saying what you mean.
