Lessons from a Whistleblower: The Cost of Staying Silent with Susan Fowler Rigetti 6 | 44

Radical Candor: Communication at Work

Radical Candor

Business, Management, Careers

4.7 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Susan Rigetti on speaking up, keeping receipts, and why silence is never the answer.

We’re shaking up the workplace and diving deep into the raw reality of whistleblowing and the courage it takes to speak up with this special episode from the Radical Respect podcast. Kim, Wesley, and special guest Susan Rigetti, author of Whistleblower, break down the challenges of calling out toxic systems while being real with yourself. When harmful practices go unchecked, they don’t just derail careers—they damage the core of psychological safety that we all need to do our best work. So how do you find the strength to raise your voice when the stakes feel impossibly high? Susan shares her own powerful story of calling out the broken culture at Uber, laying out what happens when you decide you’ve had enough and choose to act. If you’ve ever struggled to raise your voice in the face of workplace dysfunction, learn why silence is never the answer and how respect and courage can transform even the most challenging environments.

Get all of the show notes at RadicalCandor.com/podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Amy introduces the Radical Respect podcast with Kim, Wesley and guest Susan Rigetti, author of Whistleblower.

(00:03:24) Whistleblower and Lessons from Uber
Susan discusses her book, Whistleblower, and her challenges at Uber.

(00:07:13) Advice to Younger Self
The hard lesson of recognizing when a system can’t be fixed from the inside.

(00:10:33) The Cost of Staying Silent
The psychological and financial struggles many face when they stay silent.

(00:14:25) Staying True to Your Values
How keeping a list of values helped navigate a toxic work culture.

(00:16:20) Writing Whistleblower
Addressing misconceptions and setting the record straight with Whistleblower.

(00:21:18) Understanding Systemic Barriers
The systemic barriers that individuals face in the workplace.

(00:23:55) Reporting to HR
Documenting and reporting issues to hold organizations accountable.

(00:26:20) Keeping the Receipts
Advice on documenting conversations and emails to protect oneself.

(00:29:07) Conclusion

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Amy Sandler, and today we've got a special episode from the Radical Respect podcast, co-host
0:07.6	Kim Scott and Wesley Faulkner. They're interviewing Susan Raghetti about her experiences at Uber
0:14.3	and her new book, Whistleblower. In this rich and eye-opening conversation, Susan talks about the importance of speaking out and not staying silent.
0:25.6	They share important information about how to understand systemic barriers and how to navigate them, as well as a poignant conversation about the psychological and emotional impact of mistreatment at work
0:39.5	and the importance of staying true to your character with ways to cope such as writing and support
0:46.4	from friends. I think you're going to find this a valuable and insightful conversation.
0:55.3	Hello, everybody.
0:57.3	Welcome to the Radical Respect podcast.
1:00.4	I'm Kim Scott.
1:01.9	And I'm Wesley Faulkner.
1:03.3	I am so excited for this show.
1:05.4	One of my most favorite people who I've read and tracked in a good way over the years is on the show today.
1:13.6	I am thrilled to have with us today, Susan Fowler Regetti.
1:19.1	Susan is a novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and the author of three books.
1:24.1	In 2017, Susan's blog post about her experiences as a software engineer at Uber sent shockwaves through the industry.
1:32.3	She went on to write a critically acclaimed memoir called Whistleblower.
1:36.6	She is also the author of a novel cover story.
1:39.6	She has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Slate, Vanity Fair, and has been an editor at fill
1:46.1	papers for nearly a decade. Welcome, Susan. Hi, I am so excited to be chatting with you both.
1:52.7	So like a lot of people, Susan, I first came across you when you wrote your blog post about your
2:00.8	experiences at Uber. And I had this
2:03.7	overwhelming sense like, oh my gosh, I have been a coward my whole life because I had, I kept
	...

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