To say that I’m a Kim Scott fan is an understatement. I’m truly in love with her work around Radical Candor and her blogging in clarifying and providing stories of RC in action.
She recently published an article entitled—The Emotional Labor of Being the Boss. It was a story around her learnings of the importance of establishing relationships as a leader/boss. The topic was outside the bounds of what she typically shares, but it resonated with me just as strongly.
To give you a sense of it, here’s a snippet—
“Is my job to build a great company,” I asked, “or am I really just some sort of emotional babysitter?”
Leslie, a fiercely opinionated ex-Microsoft executive, could barely contain herself. “This is not babysitting,” she said. “It’s called management, and it is your job!”
Now, every time I feel I have something more “important” to do than listen to people, I remember Leslie’s words: “It is your job!” I’ve used her line on dozens of new managers who’ve come to me after a few weeks in their new role, moaning that they feel like “babysitters” or “shrinks.” We undervalue the emotional labor of being the boss. But this emotional labor is not just part of the job; it’s the key to being a good boss.