Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott

Kim Scott is the author of Radical Candor, currently the #1 most recommended book on this podcast. The book has sold over 1 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. Before writing, Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was also a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. This spring she’ll be launching Radical Respect, which she considers to be a prequel to Radical Candor. In today’s conversation, we go deep on Kim’s popular framework, including:• What separates radical candor and obnoxious aggression• Tactical advice on delivering constructive feedback• How well-meaning empathy can become ruinous• Strategies for effectively soliciting and responding to feedback• The importance of having regular career conversations• The false dichotomy of a good leader versus a kind person• A sneak peek into Radical Respect—Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice—Where to find Kim Scott:• X: https://twitter.com/kimballscott• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimm4/• Website: https://www.radicalcandor.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Kim’s background(03:13) A brief overview of Radical Candor(06:46) How people fail with ruinous empathy, manipulative insincerity, and obnoxious aggression(08:37) The impact of radical candor on Kim’s life(14:16) How to communicate feedback effectively(20:34) A story illustrating the problem with ruinous empathy and manipulative insincerity(27:50) How to get over the need to be liked(31:31) How to have career conversations with your direct reports(29:40) Reflections on how Kim handled a