"I Can Take It!"
One kind of person one comes across frequently is that one whose communication philosophy can be summarised like this: “I am very direct, even blunt, and can be perceived as rude, because I hate sugarcoating things. Don’t worry, I can take it, feel free to talk the same way to me.”
Now, that’s not helpful. The principle at work here - treat people like you want to be treated - can be a bit short-sighted sometimes. So is the opposite - treat people like they want to be treated - but can’t there be some middle ground?
The concept of “radical candor” is a good and important one. It has two components: care personally, and challenge directly. The two philosophies above each embody one of those components while ignoring the other. Neither one is ultimately great.
Check this out for a heads-up.
Tags: work