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How to Be a Better Human

Why Kim Scott thinks you need to ask for feedback

How to Be a Better Human

TED

Self-improvement, Education

4.21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You know what they say about unsolicited advice (don’t give it!) but when it comes to SOLICITED feedback, author and executive coach Kim Scott says: bring it on. Kim believes that when it comes to improving your life at home, work, and anywhere in between, it helps to ask for – and provide – kind, but radical, candor. In this episode, Kim shares what she’s learned about embracing candidness and care in the workplace, gives tips on how to engage in constructive conversations, and opens up about the benefits of addressing bias in communication. Her latest book, "Just Work:
How to Root Out Bias, Prejudice, and Bullying to Build a Kick-ass Culture of Inclusivity" is out now. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

Transcript

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0:00.0

Ted Audio Collective.

0:02.0

Audio Collective.

0:04.0

You're listening to How to Bea

0:08.0

You're listening to How to Be a Better Human.

0:11.0

I'm your host Chris Duffy. Today's guest is Kim Scott.

0:15.0

Over the course of her career, Kim has worked at all sorts of big companies that you've heard of

0:19.0

and had all these very fancy titles. But all those impressive accomplishments, while wonderful, none of those

0:25.2

were actually Kim's goal. My whole business career was actually one giant ploy to subsidize

0:31.6

my novel writing habit.

0:33.6

So I had written three novels, none of which got published.

0:38.0

The first novel is actually set in Russia and it's called the measurement problem and it's a it's a light-hearted

0:45.4

critique of capitalism. It's about a young woman who moves to Moscow and falls in

0:52.0

love with two people.

0:53.0

One is an American delivering humanitarian aid and the other is a Russian entrepreneur.

0:58.0

And I was talking actually to Andy Grove, who was the CEO of Intel about sort of what I wanted to do with my life and he said why don't you write about management a lot of the drama that is in a novel is in management and most people who are operating

1:19.3

executives don't like to write and most people who like to write have never been an operating executive and you've done both so do it

1:27.3

That was a big piece of feedback for Kim that changed the course of her career

1:31.3

She ran with that idea so far that she became an expert in feedback herself and the best-selling author of the book's radical candor and just work.

1:39.0

When it comes to giving and receiving feedback, whether it's at work, in your personal life or on creative projects, no one knows more than Kim. I really believe that.

1:48.0

And so today on our show, we're going to get very candid, some might even say radically candid, about feedback, work, and how to communicate

1:56.8

honestly, but also kindly with Kim. We're going to do all of that right after this. Hey, it's Adam Grant, host of the TED Podcast to Work Life.

2:09.0

This season, we worked with our sponsor UKG to share amazing stories from their workplace.

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