Afterpage

Radical Candor

Kim Scott

For managers and team leads who avoid hard feedback or deliver it badly, and for anyone who wants colleagues to tell them the truth. Written mostly about tech workplaces, but the actions work with peers and friends too.

A week with this book

A short summary today, then one small action a day for six days. Free for your first book.

Radical Candor Kim Scott

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Day 1

The ideas the week uses

Kim Scott, a former executive at Google and Apple, argues that good bosses care personally about people and challenge them directly, at the same time. Most of us manage one without the other, and the people we work with pay for it.

  1. Care personally and challenge directly. Scott's framework has two axes. Radical Candor is showing you care about someone as a person while telling them clearly when their work falls short. It describes a conversation, not a personality type.
  2. Three ways it goes wrong. Challenge without care is obnoxious aggression. Care without challenge is ruinous empathy, which Scott sees as the most common failure. Doing neither is manipulative insincerity, usually driven by wanting to be liked or to avoid trouble.
  3. Ask for criticism before you give it. Scott says to start by getting feedback. Ask an open question that can't be answered with yes or no, such as what you could do or stop doing to be easier to work with. Then stay quiet and count to six.
  4. Keep guidance small and immediate. Scott prefers quick feedback, two or three minutes soon after the event, over saving it for reviews. Be humble and helpful, say it in person, criticize in private, praise in public, and talk about the work rather than the person.
  5. Praise as carefully as you criticize. Vague praise like “good job” tells people nothing. Scott argues praise should be specific and sincere, so the person knows exactly what to keep doing.

Where it overreachesThe book is written mainly for managers in tech companies and says less about being candid upward, when the other person holds power over you. Its two-by-two is also easy to misuse as permission to be harsh, which is the obnoxious aggression it warns against.

Days 2 to 7

How to apply Radical Candor

10 to 20 minutes each, with a two-minute version for a bad day.

Printable week card (one page)

  1. 2Sort your last five feedback momentsWrite down the last five times you gave, softened, or held back feedback, and mark which of Scott's four quadrants each one fell in.
  2. 3Ask for criticism, then waitAsk one person what you could do or stop doing to be easier to work with, and stay silent for six seconds after you ask.
  3. 4Give one specific piece of praisePraise one person today for something specific they did, saying exactly what it was and why it mattered.
  4. 5Prepare one piece of criticismPick one problem you've been avoiding raising with someone and write what you'll say, short enough to say in under two minutes.
  5. 6Say it in person, in privateDeliver yesterday's criticism to the person in private, face to face or on a video call, in two or three minutes.
  6. 7Act on what you heardChange one thing based on the feedback you got on day 3, and tell the person what you changed.

Sample

Day 3, in full

This is what lands in your inbox that morning.

AfterpageDay 3 of 7 · Action

Ask for criticism, then wait

Today’s action · 10 to 20 minutes

Ask one person what you could do or stop doing to be easier to work with, and stay silent for six seconds after you ask.

How

Choose a coworker, a report, or your partner. Use your own words, but keep the question open: “What could I do differently?” rather than “Any feedback?” Count to six in your head. Listen, ask one follow-up, and thank them without arguing. Write down what they said.

Why this one

Scott's advice is to get criticism before you give it. Counting to six makes it harder for the other person to fall back on “everything's fine.”

If today is a bad day

Send one person a message asking what one thing you could do differently this week.

In short

Questions about this book

Who is Radical Candor by Kim Scott for?

For managers and team leads who avoid hard feedback or deliver it badly, and for anyone who wants colleagues to tell them the truth. Written mostly about tech workplaces, but the actions work with peers and friends too.

What are the main ideas in Radical Candor?

Kim Scott, a former executive at Google and Apple, argues that good bosses care personally about people and challenge them directly, at the same time. Most of us manage one without the other, and the people we work with pay for it. Care personally and challenge directly; Three ways it goes wrong; Ask for criticism before you give it; Keep guidance small and immediate; Praise as carefully as you criticize.

What do you do in the Afterpage week for Radical Candor?

Day 1 is a short summary. Then one action a day, each 10 to 20 minutes: Sort your last five feedback moments; Ask for criticism, then wait; Give one specific piece of praise; Prepare one piece of criticism; Say it in person, in private; Act on what you heard. Day 7 also has a recap.

Where does Radical Candor overreach?

The book is written mainly for managers in tech companies and says less about being candid upward, when the other person holds power over you. Its two-by-two is also easy to misuse as permission to be harsh, which is the obnoxious aggression it warns against.

What is the first action in the Radical Candor week?

Sort your last five feedback moments. Write down the last five times you gave, softened, or held back feedback, and mark which of Scott's four quadrants each one fell in. If you only have two minutes: Write down one recent time you held back feedback and name its quadrant.

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