Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a boss you just didn’t quite get along with. Both of mine are reaching for the stars!
I always thought it was me…
Until one day I met up with a previous boss I had, who saw all the work I had done since leaving the company and told me, “Wow we were really holding you back!”
That statement was vindicating.
But I didn’t want vindication. What I had wanted all along was a boss who would lead me by providing consistent guidance and feedback to help me improve.
I’m sure my story is not unique, but it has become an accepted leadership style, because we’re told that the best products and companies are led by bossholes people who rule through fear.
While there maybe a few of those lurking out there, it’s actually a pretty big myth, and one that we’re going to debunk in today’s episode of FemgineerTV!
We’ll also talk about how the boss who is a buddy aka Michael Scott, is even more damaging that the bosshole, because they are holding back the criticism you need to perform better.
So what does it take to be a great leader and boss?
Radical Candor.
It’s a framework for providing constructive guidance to employees, even when employees have screwed up, and was created by Kim Scott.
Kim has a rich background in tech. She formerly led Online Sales and Operations for a number of products at Google such as AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick. She’s also an advisor to a number of Silicon Valley startups such as Dropbox, Kurbo, Qualtrics, Rolltape, Shyp, Twitter, and more.
Through all these roles Kim has had first-hand experience with radical candor and is writing a book and building a company based on it. I’ve invited her on the show to help us explore the framework and learn how to practice it.
As you watch the episode you’ll learn:
Even if you aren’t a leader or a boss, I’d highly recommend watching this episode, because it showcases how employees can spot toxic cultures, how to change them, and the traits to spot in great leaders.