Wes Kao's Newsletter

Wes Kao's Newsletter

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How to give a senior leader feedback (without getting fired)
 • Wes Kao
12
Why high performers make assertions: The difference between insights, suggestions, and assertions
 • Wes Kao
18
How to be concise
 • Wes Kao
32
How I give the right amount of context (in any situation)
 • Wes Kao
15
How to be an empathetic manager (without becoming a therapist)
You don't need to absorb everyone’s frustrations. Here’s how to listen to grievances without having folks dump their frustrations onto you.
 • 
Wes Kao
6
To instantly sound more sincere, do this
If you aren’t careful, you may come across as less sincere because your writing doesn’t translate your intent. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t…
 • 
Wes Kao
6
How to delegate while maintaining high standards
This is for managers who want to delegate AND maintain a high bar for quality of work. Here are the 5 tactics I learned over time that made delegating…
 • 
Wes Kao
6
How to fix limbo writing
When writing is obviously bad, you delete it. When writing is obviously good, you ship it. But what if it’s not terrible, but it’s not good either? I…
 • 
Wes Kao
3
Take 3 minutes to delete these words and improve your writing forever
Before you hit “send,” delete these words from your writing. Your message will be stronger for it.
 • 
Wes Kao
12
Everything takes longer than you think
The problem isn’t that you’re not working fast enough. It’s that your expectations were never realistic to begin with.
 • 
Wes Kao
17
Leaders, stop accidentally scaring your team
"Painting a picture" by being concrete and specific is usually good. But when you're talking about negative ideas, you may want to be abstract and vague…
 • 
Wes Kao
3
When too much CYA backfires
Some operators speak in a way that's overly CYA (cover your ass) as a defensive tactic to prevent getting into trouble if things go wrong. Here's why…
 • 
Wes Kao
8
Good struggle vs bad struggle
Not all struggle leads to personal growth. Learn to distinguish between good struggle vs bad struggle, so you can invest your emotional energy in the…
 • 
Wes Kao
9
Wes Kao's Newsletter
Wes Kao's Newsletter
A bi-weekly newsletter on managing up, executive communication, and standing out as a high-performer. Written by an a16z-backed founder.

Wes Kao's Newsletter

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