Kim Scott led outstanding teams at both Google and Apple. Whilst the culture at these companies couldn’t be more different, they have a lot in common when it comes to great leadership. According to Scott, one’s ability to have radically candid relationships is the key to that, not only in Silicon Valley.

In her 2017 book, she explains how balance “caring personally” about each and every person on the team with “challenging directly” in order to help them grow. While it’s clear that the intended audience are upper and middle management of tech companies, the insights and techniques she presents can be applied in many other contexts. You don’t have to have direct authority in order to lead others, for example. An being radically candid—rather than “obnoxiously aggressive” or “ruinously empathetic”, as she would say—will improve any relationship, not only those at work.