Radical Candor

I’m reading Radical Candor: Be A Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott. In a nutshell, the message of the book is: Be honest. That sounds simple enough, but how often do you avoid being honest because it is difficult or uncomfortable? I know I’m guilty.

So far I have found the book helpful but unsurprising. Being honest makes sense to me. Giving people negative feedback before things spiral out of control makes sense to me. I already knew this.

As I thought about how I can be better in implementing the ideas of the book, I realized radical candor requires clarity of mind. You can’t give honest feedback if you don’t know your honest thoughts. 

Clarity of mind is something I struggle with. I like to plan and execute projects but I’m uncomfortable reflecting. I don’t enjoy introspection.

It can be tempting to not give negative feedback because you are afraid of the discomfort this might cause. I can think of times where I not only held back feedback, but my brain effectively tricked itself into removing my critique from my mind. Sensing there would be no utility in the information, my brain discarded it. I might be crazy, but I think the brain plays tricks like that.

So I’m not only thinking about how to use radical candor, I’m thinking about strategies for keeping my mind clear. As I previously wrote, I meditate regularly (well, I have let myself slip and it’s now semi-regularly). This blog helps too. After trying to write regularly for only a few weeks, I can tell you writing is a challenging but rewarding method for gaining mental clarity.