Some crucial definitions and key points from Scott's first of two parts of the book, which is more focused on the theory of radical candor than its practice:
- "Bosses," by definition, guide a team to achieve results
- The central difficulty of management--and key to management--is establishing a trusting relationship with each person who reports directly to you.
- "Radical Candor" is what happens when you put "Care Personally" and "Challenge Directly" together.
- As opposed to being "just professional," "bring your whole self to work." (12)
- To build trust: offer radically candid praise AND criticism
- To develop a culture of radical candor, explain it, and then ask people to be radically candid with you: "Start by getting feedback...don't dish it out before you show you can take it." (33-34); "Ask for criticsm before giving it, and offer more praise than criticism." (38)
- Understand the "perilous border between Obnoxious Aggression and Radical Candor" by not personalizing the criticism--make it about the work, not the person. (37)
Her first part of the book also deals with building teams, that key word in the work that bosses guide. She points to countless examples, and especially Google, which "went to great lengths to make sure bosses couldn't squash their employees' ideas and ambitions." (45) This is related to growth management, a focus in chapter 3, as employees also "conduct their careers in the way they desire, not the way you think they should want to." (47) I appreciated, as well, how she takes to task passion and purpose-based theories of leadership. Central to her argument, about respecting employees' trajectories and choices to be "rockstars" (steady growth) or "superstars" (accelerated growth), is that as a boss, "your job is not to provide purpose but instead to get to know each of your direct reports well enough to understand how each one derives meaning from their work." (51) Finally, in thinking about building, hiring, and firing team members, Scott believes that "everyone can be exceptional somewhere and that it was my job to help them find that role." (65) This resonated, too, as I imagine much of my job supporting teachers towards finding that balance, role, or proper place in or beyond a school.
In the final chapter of the first part--a chapter on collaboration--she cites Intel's Andy Grove who said the following about Steve Jobs: "I didn't say Steve is always right. I said he always gets it right. Like anyone, he is wrong sometimes, but he insists, and not gently either, that people tell him when he's wrong, so he always get it right in the end." (79) This, and the "Get Stuff Done" (GSD) cycle, resonated deeply, as a means to nurture ideas and engage collaboratively in clarifying, debating, and ultimately executing as a team.
As an educator and team builder, I like much of what Scott posits, and even if all of her theory is aimed at the start-up Silicon Valley Google-ish culture. In schools, leaders can build trust with teachers through both caring and challenging, and we especially build that trust when it's reciprocal and shared both horizontally and vertically. I also see that it takes a deep trust in and commitment to its method--that is, one must be vulnerable, patient, and even self-effacing to support a business, start-up, or school's growth. Finally, it makes clear that radical candor is not only about feedback cycles--it is about cultivating ideas and teams to support the success of outcomes. I can only imagine implementing such a cycle in designing learning experiences and curriculum!
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