Thoughts on "Radical Candor"

I have to confess, up until now "candor" isn't a word that I’ve thought much about. That changed after reading a new book titled "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott.

If you haven’t ever heard her name, Kim Scott is a heavy hitter in Silicon Valley, where she spends time managing people at Twitter, Shyp, and many more successful tech companies. The book caters to those who are managers and is focused on how you treat people.

Before I dig into my thoughts, one of the first things I did out of curiosity was check with my good friend, Merriam-Webster, for the different definitions for the word Candor.

Here is what I found:

1. the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness: The candor of the speech impressed the audience.
2. freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality: to consider an issue with candor.
3. Obsolete. kindliness.
4. Obsolete. purity.

The Two Dimensions

I would generally summarize the book by saying it takes a teaching and mentoring approach to people management, based on the traditional school of thought that managers primarily exist to help the people on their team. The advice she provides is both practical and actionable, with specific advice for running 1:1s and team meetings, and how to encourage focused conversations where people strive to improve themselves as well as helping the people around them.

There are two main dimensions that she describes.

I completely agree with her in regard to the importance of understanding the difference between "Obnoxious Aggression" and "Radical Candor." She further explains, “Radically Candid criticism is an important part of the culture at both Google and Apple, but it takes very different forms at the two companies. Google emphasizes caring personally more than challenging directly, so I’d describe criticism there as Radical Candid with a twist of Ruinous Empathy. Apple does the opposite, so I’d describe its culture of criticism as Radical Candor with a twist of Obnoxious Aggression.”

The Questions Matter

The next big takeaway for me from the book was that asking the right questions effectively, and at the right time is among the most important and least appreciated skills, especially in regard to managers. It was also really interesting to learn from some of the data she provides, that face-to-face conversations, tone of voice, and body language determine 80-85% of the perceived impact; however, what is actually said to the person is only about 15-20%.

Here are a few of the examples questions that Kim recommends to supervisors when they are interested in feedback from an underperforming direct report:

• “I know you are determined to produce the results we need.
• “What can I do to make that easier for you?”
• “What do you need that you don’t have now?”
• “Have there been any unexpected problems?”
• "Any pleasant surprises?”
• “To what extent do you feel limited by someone or something else?”
• “Is there something else you would much rather be doing?”

The most effective and enjoyable managers have the background, skills, experience, and temperament to know when and how to give recognition when it has actually been earned, and also when and how to provide constructive criticism when it is needed most.

In my opinion, some of the best advice that Kim gives in the book focuses on the “when” and “how” of each situation, and actionable advice on how to become better.

Memorable snippets from the book

This book is packed with insightful lines from Kim and other smart managers. Here are some of the memorable quotes that resonated with me:

Not into reading?

I understand that not everyone is into reading, lucky for us, we have YouTube and Kim has does many speaking engagements. Here is one of my favorites from a FirstRound Review talk.