Amy and Kim talk about performance improvement plans (PIPs). When used correctly, performance improvement plans can be valuable if there is a commitment to help the employee improve. However, they are often weaponized by frustrated managers who want to get rid of an employee who is struggling. Listen to find out how to tell the difference.

Get all the show notes and resources at radicalcandor.com/podcast

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Amy and Jason answer a listener's question about how to give feedback about nervous laughter. As you may have noticed, we like to laugh on this podcast when we think something is funny. But, did you know that a lot of laughter doesn’t have anything to do with hilarity? In fact, in the absence of an underlying medical condition, laughing is often a stress response — a way for people to regulate their emotions and avoid being overcome with anxiety.

Find all the resources and show notes for this episode at radicalcandor.com/podcast

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Kim and Amy welcome Amy C. Edmondson, the Novartis professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School and author of several books, including The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth and Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well — available now! From managers seeking to inspire their reports to parents wanting to model a healthy failure mindset for their kids, this book will revolutionize how we think about failure.

Get all the show notes and resources at RadicalCandor.com/podcast

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Kim, Amy and Brandi discuss coming out at work and Amy and Brandi share their stories. In response to an unprecedented spike in discriminatory legislation, The Human Rights Campaign recently declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. Visibility matters — we want folks who might be struggling to know that we see you. That you deserve to be here. And to thrive!

Read all of the show notes and episode resources at RadicalCandor.com/podcast

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Kim, Amy and Jason discuss Praise, Recognition, Appreciation and Gratitude. Kim also takes on the role of Don Draper to act out a scene from Mad Men's beloved episode "The Suitcase." Listen to learn why — in most cases — "that's what the money is for" is not sufficient recognition or appreciation. (A deep dive into Peggy and Don's complicated relationship is a whole other glass of whiskey not covered in this episode — but if you haven't watched "The Suitcase," it's a must-see. Listen to our bonus episode about the writers and actors strikes.)

Read the show notes and find the bonus episode at RadicalCandor.com/podcast

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Bullying at work is real. We're dropping a bonus episode from Kim's Just Work podcast featuring a conversation about bullying at work, in Hollywood and within our greater society with co-host Wesley Faulkner and guest Eric Deggans. When someone is bullying you, the person’s goal is to harm you. Telling the person you are being harmed is just going to result in more bad behavior. Ignoring bullies doesn’t work, either. The only way to stop bullying is to create negative consequences for the people doing the bullying.

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Kim, Amy and Jason discuss feedback sandwiches. These are not the tasty sandwiches beloved by Joey Tribbiani on Friends. While these sandwiches look delicious on the outside, inside they’re stuffed with something you can’t quite identify. But, the sandwich maker hopes the two pieces of artisan bread that hold the mystery meat together will make you accept what’s inside without too many questions. This false promise of emotional novocaine is better known as the feedback sandwich. Here's why you should avoid the feedback sandwich, which Jason calls "the beautiful lie."

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Do you trust your employees? 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. Kim and Jason roleplay the situation to get to the bottom of why someone might be pulling a disappearing act.

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Kim, Jason and Amy discuss the difference between feedback and nitpicking. Kim says, "There is one rule of thumb that applies to criticism in general but is especially good advice when you’re really busy and nerves are frayed. It’s best summed up by advice a friend’s godfather gave her at her wedding. 'If it’s brown flush it down. If it’s yellow let it mellow.' She got married on an island with a poor septic system, and this was a sign by all the toilets. But as her godfather said, 'These are words to live by. If there’s a big stinking problem talk about it before it fouls your relationship. But if it’s a small thing, let it go.'"

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What's the most important leadership skill? Kim and Amy welcome C-suite advisor and executive coach Muriel Wilkins to the first Radically Candid Conversation episode of 2023. Kim and Muriel discuss how keeping it real at work can go wrong, what employees want from their leaders today, and the difference between performance and behavior.

Muriel Wilkins is a C-suite advisor and executive coach with a nearly 20-year track record of helping senior leaders and teams take their effectiveness to the next level. She is the host of the Harvard Business Review podcast, Coaching Real Leaders and the co-author of Own the Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence.

Fun fact — Kim, Amy and Muriel all attended Harvard Business School at the same time but did not know each other. Read the show notes >>

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