Moving people to do something is a tricky proposition. If you try too hard, you come off as the worst incarnation of a sleezy salesperson, and that doesn't work.

To learn specifically what to do instead, check out this podcast and the book To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink.

When Radical Candor exploded onto the business world in 2017, the story was that this book justified and celebrated the effectiveness of being an a-hole to your people. "Candor" was the code for "being mean," and it was all ok because it worked.

Reading Radical Candor by Kim Scott, you get a much more nuanced (and useful) take on how to be an effective leader by challenging directly AND caring personally.

This episode of the Books Applied Podcast is a fast-paced conversation with Brandi Oldham that hits on what Kim Scott actually said about Radical Candor and how to do it well. We get into the four traps to avoid when delivering radical candor and how to be an excellent communicator and leader.

Caring for other people who are experiencing trauma can cause a trauma exposure response in us. In Trauma Stewardship, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk dive into the warning signs for trauma exposure and how to respond to those signs in a way that sustains and fuels us.

This is a great read for anyone who works or spends time with people experiencing trauma.

I hope this podcast motivates you to read the book so that you can be more self-compassionate and find a sustainable path while caring for others.