The best bosses see employees as humans

The best bosses see employees as humansThe best bosses see employees as humansFormer Apple and Google executive Kim Scott broke down the two essential discussions managers should have with their employees to better understand their goals ina recently-posted Business Insider video.As the author ofRadical Candor Be A Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, Scotts philosophy provides insight on how to strengthen your feedback skills as a manager - and some things we can all ask of our bosses.Learn about employees goals through their life stories and dreamsThe first conversation Scott suggests having is about employees lives and how they grew up, starting with kindergarten, but emphasizing pivots they made as a way to find out what drives them.Why hone in on the strategic changes your employees have made in life during this discussion?Scott explains in her own words So somebody was a cheerleader and then they became a swimmer because they really could see more results of time in the pool on the swimteam than they could as a cheerleader then you know this rolle is results oriented. You start to see whether its hard workor what not that really motivates the person but you get a much richer more textured view of the person if you understand these sort of abstractions in the context of their actual life story.But she also cautions managers not to be intrusive if employees would rather keep private how they grew up. Keep their emotions in mind.Next up? WhatScotts coined the dreams conversation, asking them about what their ideal situation would be, but not limiting them to only one. This way, managers can see things including where the employees skills currently stack up and who they need to know to move forward to those aspirations.Scott then adds specific ways managers can change employees jobs to help them work toward their dreams- even if their current position isnt closely related- including, putting them on various projects, giving them training or academic opportunities or connecting them with others.What Scotts radical candor concept meansA quadrant displayed in an explanatory video displays the ideasframework, and according to the labeled axes, it means toboth care personally and challenge directly. That means that nice bosses have to totenstill hold employees to high standards.Its a way of giving feedback to employees. As Scott urges in the video, say what you think.On the other end, there are the pitfalls that bosses can fall into. The other three parts of the quadrant are obnoxious aggression, or just being a total jerk manipulative insincerity, in which bosses pretend to care, and ruinous empathy, in which bosses care too much about employees, avoiding all kinds of conflict or challenge, and end up ineffective as a result.The website defines each one, saying that obnoxious aggression results when you challenge but dont care. Its praise that doesnt feel sincere or criticism that isnt delivered kindly.The manipulative insincerity portion is defined as when you neither care nor challenge. Its praise that is non-specific and insincere or criticism that is neither clear nor kind.Lastly, ruinous empathy results when you care but dont challenge. Its praise that isnt specific enough to help the person understand what was good or criticism that is sugarcoated and unclear.This is just part of the philosophy, but it illustrates what can happen when you dare to show employees you care, but stay honest and clear with them.As a manager, getting to know more about employees lives and dreams can help you better understand what they want to accomplish, and giving proper feedback can help both them and you in the long run.