Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean by Kim Scott

• In Kim Scott's Radical Candor, the book covers key lessons for a leader when it comes to give feedbacks: 
• care personally 
• challenge openly 
• recognize employees’ strengths 
• be a partner (professional partner) 

 

My favor part was about understanding what motivates each person on your team and whether he or she is in "rockstars” or “superstars” phase, 

• Rockstars want to stay in their current position because they’re happy to have stability and don’t necessarily want a promotion. They’re on what Kim calls a “gradual growth trajectory.” The employee may for example, have ambitious outside of work and simply content in life. Happy in the current role. 
• Superstars love challenges, and are looking to get ahead. They are the change agent, and ambitious at work and on a “steep growth trajectory.”  
• Kim explained that people don’t tend to stay in one box or the other, so it’s crucial that leaders recognize this in your own employees.   

 
As a manager, we shall ensure the fairness in rating employee's performance base on whether a person is doing better work than others in their current year performance. Not as justify future promotion.
 
The second part I found useful is the model she used to address the practical issues with giving feedbacks. Kim advised leaders to create an environment where offering constructive criticism is encouraged, and people are open to developing drawing-board ideas instead of shutting them down.  
The leader needs to be careful about not failing into one of the other quarters.  
If you criticize too much or too little, you could fall into other leaderships styles that Kim identifies as “manipulative insincerity,” “ruinous empathizer,” and “obnoxious aggressive.”  

• Manipulative insincerity causes leaders to refrain from criticizing for the sake of making themselves likable—probably considered by Scott as the worst leadership style.  
• Ruinous empathy means criticizing very little so as not to damage someone else’s self-esteem. 
• Obnoxious aggression is when you criticize someone without taking even two seconds to show you care, your guidance feels obnoxiously aggressive to the recipient.  

 
The third part I like is about the art of getting stuff done  (GSD) wheel. It's about how leader can first lay the groundwork for collaboration without telling people what to do: 
 

• Listen: Are you a quiet listener  like Tim Cook who is the master of silence? Or a load listener like Steve jobs who intension is about saying things to get a reaction out of the others? Either way, as a leader shall create a culture of listening in the team. 
• Clarify: Be clear in your own mind, create a safe space to nurture new ideas 
• Debate: make thoughts/ideas drop-dead easy for others to comprehend 
  • Keep the conversation focused on ideas not egos 
  • Pause for emotion/exhaustion 
  • Use humor and have fun 
  • Be clear when the debate will end 
  • Don't grab a decision just because the debate has gotten painful 
• Decide: Push decision into the facts, or pull the facts into the decision, but keep ego out. 
  • You are not the decider (usually)- unless you are at time dig into details 
  • The decider should get facts, not recommendations 
• Persuade: emotion (the listener's emotions, not the speakers'), credibility (demonstrate expertise and humility), logic (show your work) 
• Execute:  
  • minimize the collaboration tax 
  • Don't waste your team's time 
  • keep the ~Dirt under your fingernails~. 
  • block time to execute 
• Learn: consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds  

 
Don’t Hold Back 
Lastly, Don’t hold back whether it’s praise or criticism, you shouldn’t be afraid to express either—both are necessary for creating a healthy business environment. It’s essential that your employees know where you’re coming from and why you’re offering your comments. Be clear and specific about what you’re addressing. Don’t try to mince your words, but be tactful at the same time. A comment could be taken badly if you don’t specify why you’re offering it.