Best of Radical Candor, Vol. 2: The Role-Play Collection

A show about how to kick ass at work without losing your humanityThe Radical Candor® approach—Caring Personally while Challenging Directly—can move you from a command-and-control culture to one of collaboration. Developed by Kim Scott, Radically Candid guidance is feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific and sincere.

Tackling Difficult Conversations: The Radical Candor Role-Play Collection

Radical Candor Wipeouts Reimagined: We often get questions from folks who want us to talk through specific Radical Candor scenarios like how to overcome feedback hesitation or what to do when someone tells you not to bother giving feedback to someone because “that person will never change.” Kim, Jason, and Amy role-play two different Radical Candor wipeout scenarios and offer advice about what to do instead.

Don’t Be Suspicious … Get Curious: Kim and Jason reach into the Radical Candor digital mailbag to answer a question about what to do when an employee starts calling in sick on the regular. They role-play the situation to get to the bottom of why someone might be pulling a disappearing act.

Identify the Elephant: Kim, Jason, and Amy answer a listener’s question about how to identify the elephant in the room when a direct report’s performance isn’t meeting expectations. Kim and Jason role-play how to be kind and clear when delivering feedback to someone who’d rather not hear it. While it can be tempting to default to Ruinous Empathy, the team explains why it’s important to double down on the challenge directly axis of Radical Candor instead.

Disrupting Bias in Management: Kim, Jason, and Amy discuss a listener’s question about how to confront and disrupt bias in management at work for women working in male-dominated fields. Jason and Kim role-play a scenario where a manager is clearly biased and explain how to disrupt bias in the moment. They also discuss documenting incidents and when it’s time to go to HR.

Two Managers, One Team: Making Co-Management Work: Kim, Amy, and Jason address a listener’s question about the challenges of implementing Radical Candor within a co-managed team. They dive into how differing management styles can impact team dynamics and explore strategies for aligning co-managers to foster a cohesive and productive environment. Kim and Jason role-play a co-management scenario that sheds light on resolving conflicts and delivering effective feedback.

Beyond “Sorry”: How to Apologize and Mean It: Kim, Jason, and Amy dive into the complexities of apologies, focusing on the difference between genuine regret and false apologies. Through role-play and insightful analysis, they explore common pitfalls such as deflecting blame, making excuses, and failing to acknowledge the impact of one’s actions.

Resetting Expectations with Resistant Direct Reports: Dealing with a direct report who questions everything, isolates their team, and actively undermines leadership? Kim and Amy tackle the tricky reality of managing someone who refuses to engage, blames leadership for team turnover, and resists every attempt at coaching. From figuring out whether this is a communication breakdown or a serious performance issue, to deciding if a PIP is the right move, they role-play strategies to reset expectations, shut down toxicity, and lead with confidence.