Kim Scott (4)

I read this book based on a recommendation that stated that it is not just empty Silicon Valley chatter, and this recommendation was mostly proven right. While it was not able to completely loose the over-the-top style of all US self-improvement books ("Do this and your whole life will benefit from it! Your work will be better, your relationships will be improved, and your dog will like you more!") and contained a moderate amount of Silicon Valley name-dropping, I found it quite interesting show more and helpful. (And, in fairness, the name-dropping was mostly in the context of telling stories about the observed behaviour of other managers, so it was actually a useful part of the book).

I'm not a manager, but as a PhD student, I supervise a number of student theses each year, so I read this book with the intent of seeing which of the techniques may be transferrable to my situation. In my situation, establishing a good relationship with the "direct reports" (i.e., students) is both easier (we are almost the same age, and my supervision style is fairly informal and non-authoritarian to begin with) and harder (the students are only around for half a year).

I have taken a few of the tips about meetings and feedback style to heart, and it has actually already proven helpful with one of my students. On the other hand, many parts of the book were irrelevant to my situation (I don't write yearly performance reports, I grade a thesis) and in some cases, the hints were impossible to do (at a certain point, I am discouraged from working directly with the students to find a solution for their problems, as their problem-solving skills are what I am supposed to grade - so there's a fine balance between being helpful and being able to gauge their problem-solving skills).

In the end, I'm going to go with 4.5 stars (half a star deducted for the over-the-top style and a few other nitpicks), rounded up to five stars for the simple reason that the book describes the sort of boss I would want to have (and I would hope to be, if I ever end up being a boss / manager somewhere). show less

Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair by Kim Malone Scott is a fantastic read about learning how to deal with difficult people in workplaces. From harassment and bullying, to diversity and gender differences, this book reviews a lot of the difficult situations many people deal with in the workplace and gives suggestions on how to deal with them.

I know so many people that should honestly read this book. The amount of times I was grimacing at the situations Kim went through because I too have show more seen or been apart of many of them... Yeah, it hit home, hard. Kim wrote a spectacular novel that breaks down how situations should be dealt with, but unfortunately I think many people won't take the advice of this book. Those who are reading this book more than likely are already trying, but we all know a person or two who should take this book and treat it like law...

It's a very personal book but reads like a very professional, textbook that you'd find in business school. It is insightful and has some of the greatest breakdowns and explanations on how to deal with awkward or horrible workplace situations. It felt like an HR person with a heart of gold wrote it. The strategies in this book are super helpful, and I think everyone who reads this book will take away at least one strategy for eliminating workplace harassment, violence, or bullying. If anything, it might give you the confidence you need to stand up for yourself or others. Don't just be a bystander, do something.

Overall, Kim Malone Scott has created one spectacular resource that many readers should pick up. If you're looking for a book that will give you helpful hints and tips, grab this one! It's a fantastic non-fiction read and I highly recommend it.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. show less

I loved this book! Radical Candor is so much more than just a single communication technique. It's a mindset which can be applied to all of management, and in this book, Kim Scott applies the idea to many different aspects of leadership.

Radical candor denies a false dichotomy that, I think, is applied by many people to communication, both in and out of work: that communication is either nice/respectful or it is honest/direct. You see this mindset, for example, when people act as if show more respecting others means that you have to censor yourself or that being honest means you don't have to be respectful. The radical candor perspective says that not only is this false dichotomy wrong, but that by falling into either of its extremes, you are doing harm.

Divide communication into four types, by the axes of caring personally about the person you're communicating with and challenging them directly. If you care personally but don't challenge directly — what some people assume is required to be nice — then you fall into the ruinous empathy quadrant. You save their feelings in the short term (maybe; people often know when they've failed), but in the long term you damage their growth, your relationship, and effective communication more generally. If you challenge directly but don't care personally — what some people assume is required to be honest — then you fall into the obnoxious aggression quadrant. You may be giving feedback that's valuable, but if it doesn't come along with caring, then it's not going to be heard. Many comments on internet fall into this category :-) You can also fail to either care personally or challenge directly. This quadrant, which Scott calls manipulative insecurity, has no advantages.

Radical candor is what you get when you both care personally and challenge directly. It's clear while also showing that the person giving the feedback understands the needs and context that prompted the context. You can help people achieve what they need to achieve more effectively than the obnoxiously aggressive feedback giver because your feedback won't just be honest; it will be more likely to be listened too and it will be less generic.

The bulk of the book applies this mindset to various leadership challenges: developing the people on a team, recognizing individual performance in individually meaningful ways, collaboration (including the great "Get Stuff Done" wheel[0]), establishing productive working relationships, how to give and get guidance, career conversations, and meeting structure[1]. There's tons of practical advice, well presented.

I'll need to read it more than once before I've really internalized and been able to apply all the tips though. :-)

[0] https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/results/
[1] Including my new go to method for running those status update meetings that are necessary: spend 15 minutes silently updating and reading a shared notes document and then only talk about the status updates that people have questions on. You get higher quality notes and discussions. show less

(10) Gawd. I hate this genre. The only reasons I read such books are for work book clubs. This is another Sheryl Sandberg acolyte. These bougie tech executives that command huge salaries to manage our addiction to screens - or addiction to anything; addiction to consumerism. Gross. just makes me want to throw up in my mouth. The corporate structure is grotesque.

My work wanted us to read as a paradigm for the apprenticeship-type work and career guidance that is part of my job housed within show more an academic as opposed to a corporate power infrastructure (which is almost just as obscene, BTW) I thought the ideas were great - our ultra PC world in academics is not quite ready for this however. My ass would be fired so fast. . . It is a shame. The funniest thing I read was the fact that successful women are labelled as "abrasive" in performance reviews - now here I was, thinking that was just me. Sure enough, when I brought this up to some other successful women friends outside of my own field - Boy, did that word resonate. Honestly, people expect a female boss to be a cheerleader not a coach - and we are punished for speaking our mind. Sigh. Perhaps I am just 'obnoxiously aggressive' - another funny term.

Anyway, I thought there was some good information couched inside a disgusting self-help kind of repetitive framework that makes me gag. And the name-dropping - really? Is that necessary? .. not that any of the names mean anything to me, but it still smacked of obnoxious aggression. Oh well, good luck with this approach with millennials and Gen Z's - I hope these companies have a full complement of "wellness coaches" read: psychiatrists, working round the clock. show less