Whether you're a veteran at your 9-to-5 or are fresh out of college heading into your first big role, it can be difficult to adjust to a setting full of new personalities. Managing these relationships that take up the majority of our everyday lives is just as important as relationships outside of work.
Co-hosts of the Radical Respect podcast Wesley Faulkner and Kim Scott joined the 2024 SXSW Conference to talk about creating more productive, efficient, and healthier relationships in the workplace.
Wesley Faulkner is a founding member of Open Austin, a group serving the Austin community to solve social and civic challenges using technology. Faulkner's prior experience at companies such as IBM, Dell and AMD have played a role in his advocacy for social change.
Kim Scott is the founder of the Radical Candor company, as well as the author of bestselling book Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity. Her background in CEO coaching at tech companies like Dropbox and Twitter have made her well known for creating healthier and more inclusive working environments
Scott and Faulkner broke down three of the more common workplace issues: bias, prejudice, and bullying. Scott defines bias as an unconscious behavior, whereas prejudice is a consciously held belief set in a stereotype, and bullying is just being mean. These issues affect productivity within team performance, but they can also prevent highly skilled and qualified candidates from being fairly considered for a role.
"Radical respect means that we are optimizing for collaboration, not coercion." - Kim Scott
Whether you've dealt with workplace bullying from a peer or a leader in your organization, it's important to stand up for yourself and others. Faulkner and Scott go on to highlight the need for leaders in organizations to create consequences for negative behavior to prevent the spread of condescending behavior amongst teammates. Among them, Scott mentions three forms of consequences: conversational, compensation, and career consequences. These consequences help to not give a platform to those acting negatively towards others.
Looking for tips on creating a better work environment? Watch the full Featured Session: Radical Respect: How To Work Together Better below. Explore even more from the 2024 Conference and beyond on the SXSW YouTube channel.
