The Community Corner with Beth McIntyre

EP33: Radical Candor for Community Professionals w/ Kim Scott

Episode Summary

Kim Scott has changed not just the entire tech industry but work culture globally. She is the author of the best selling book “Radical Candor” which pioneered a new way to communicate by caring personally but also challenging directly. She’s had a legendary career which inspired the book. At Google she led the AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick Online Sales efforts, then she went to Apple to develop their leadership seminar. In this interview we break down how to use Radical Candor to get resources for community, the art of storytelling, her own community around Radical Candor and so much more.

Episode Notes

Kim Scott has changed not just the entire tech industry but work culture globally. She is the author of the best selling book “Radical Candor” which pioneered a new way to communicate by caring personally but also challenging directly. She’s had a legendary career which inspired the book. At Google she led the AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick Online Sales efforts, then she went to Apple to develop their leadership seminar.

In this interview we break down how to use Radical Candor to get resources for community, the art of storytelling, her own community around Radical Candor and so much more.

To Long; Didn't Listen

• Radical Candor became a cultural phenomenon, Kim shared that ultimately it took off on it’s own but did share 2 reasons that helped it explode. The first was that she was vulnerable and shared embarrassing stories she learned from (quoting Brene Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability). The second was that she put a simple structure to an unarticulated idea (the Radical Candor Framework) which gave people words to what they felt but could never describe.
• Kim shared that if you are a community professional looking to get buy-in for your community program you should look at them as a fellow human and not a tyrant to be toppled. Then both ask for honest feedback to genuinely improve and find the things you appreciate about them and communicate with them. After some time, approach them by asking if you can be radically candid with them and share your vision for your community program.
• When measurement fails Kim suggested not just finding stories but fine tuning them to communicate your point. If you can measure something, find a story that supports your point that could get people to support your vision where they might not have otherwise.