Additional Lessons I Learned at NBCUniversal

1. Take calculated risks - Oftentimes when you are building or creating something that doesn’t exist before, there are a lot of unknowns involved and hence there is a lot of anxiety around making decisions. When you find yourself in a similar situation, it is important to either have a leader or be a leader who encourages their team to make a call based on the current knowledge they have, be flexible when it comes to their team making mistakes as long as they take accountability and are willing to make an effort to mitigate the undesired outcome of a decision that was made based on limited knowledge.

2. At no point in life, you are going to know everything, but given enough time and learning opportunities, you can tackle any challenge that is thrown at you - This can go hand in hand with the previous point of taking calculated risks. As mentioned previously, when you are building something that doesn't not exists before, there are too many unknowns involved for you to know what the exact outcome will be. When you are in a situation like this: 

a. Understand the problem at hand by asking questions from all the parties who are involved

b. Come up with different ways to approach the problem

c. Consider the pros and cons of each approach 

d. Make a call based on the knowledge you currently have

If the approach you decided to go with ends up working, great. If it doesn’t, then at least you are not starting from scratch this time. For example, suppose you had 3 approaches initially, you choose to go with option 1, and it didn’t end up working. Now, 

a. You can evaluate why option 1 didn’t work

b. Modify the other approaches accordingly

c. Make a call based on the knowledge you currently have

3. Know when to ask for help - When you are stuck on something or have been assigned a project and struggle to make progress. Identify what type of problem you are facing by thinking about

a. Is this a problem I can solve on my own?

i. Is this something I can find online, or in the documentation that the team provided me with?

b. Is this a problem that would require me to ask for someone else’s assistance?

i. Is this something I can not find online or in the documentation?

ii. Has someone worked on a similar project or ran into a similar problem before?

1. If yes, then it’s better to reach out to that person rather than trying to waste time reinventing the wheel. 

For example, when I was working on creating the acronym search engine and was unsure about some of the acronyms I have heard in meetings, I reached out to my team member to find out what they meant, because I knew that, that was something I wouldn’t find online or in the documentation that the team had.

Additionally, since this was my first time creating a search engine, and I was not aware of all the technologies that the company or the team had access to, I reached out to people who have done similar projects before, and who were familiar with the technologies or platforms that are already available to every NBCU employee, to get a better sense of how I should approach the project. 

4. Be ok with saying no - Oftentimes we end up saying yes to things either because we want to be helpful, or we think it will be good exposure for us. Even though both reasons are not bad ones to have, it is great to help someone out and have an attitude where you are open to learning new things. But make sure you are balancing the yes’s with the no’s in order to ensure that you are prioritizing the things that matter to you the most while also having time to recharge. 

5. Don’t be afraid to bring your authentic self to work, and stick with your values - I know this is easier said than done, and the level of ease depends on the type of environment that senior leaders create. 

Even though I am not usually the person who shies away from uncomfortable conversations such as racial or social justice, pay transparency/negotiation or my cultural identity, I have always felt uncomfortable talking about my religious identity. 

Below are some things that helped me be more comfortable talking about my religious identity and how my needs differ as a Muslim woman in the workplace:

a. My recruiter, Sabrina Rahimi posting on Linkedin about Ramadan- it was an indication that it is ok to openly talk about my religious identity at work, and communicate how my needs in the workplace might differ as a Muslim woman with my manager. 

b. My manager, Ruchi Sawhney, acknowledging that it was Ramadan and wishing me ‘Happy Eid’

c. One of my team members, Eric Pulsipher, noticing that I wasn’t eating anything which had meat in it at a team hang out, and asking if it was because it wasn’t halal. 

I do want to acknowledge that some of your managers and colleagues might not understand you fasting for a whole month, stepping away from your desk for 5 - 10 minutes to go pray, why the way you pray might differ from the way they do, or why I am choosing to wear a hijab. If you are in a situation like this, where you receive the following comments that we all know and love, 

a. “Not even water? “

b. “What am I supposed to do if it’s really windy out and your hijab flies away, am I supposed to run, and grab it for you or am I supposed to cover my eyes?”

c. “Are you ok?”, one asked with a worried look on their face (usually asked when you are performing wudu) 

Use these moments to educate the other person. Explain the reasoning behind why you are fasting or why you need to pray at a certain time. 

6. Communication is the key - Let’s be honest here, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing, and you are going to run into problems that might cause you to not complete a deliverable on time. When you are in a situation like this, communicate with your manager if there is a deliverable that is at risk of not being completed by the desired date, as well as provide them with reasons as to why you might not be able to complete a certain deliverable on time, everything you have tried, people you have reached out to get the issue resolved, and any blockers that your manager can help you with. 

7. Divide projects into phases- Here the same logic can be applied as when you are assigned a complex project in a school setting. When assigned a complex project, taking the following approach has helped me in the past:

a. Divide the project into smaller sections, so by each requirement

b. Go requirement by requirement and assign specific dates by which a certain requirement should be completed

Here, again completely normal to run into issues and delivery dates getting pushed. As long as you are actively making an effort to resolve the issues you run into, and communicating with the parties involved, you should be fine. Here, also note that it’s a given that if the deadline for one phase gets pushed the deadline for the following phases will get pushed too. 

8. Make sure you are getting the feedback you deserve - Sometimes managers or senior leaders aren’t equipped with the tools or the language to provide you with the feedback that might be helpful for you

If you are the person asking for feedback, keep in mind the following two points: 

a. There is a time, place, and the right way to ask for feedback- For example, it is always good to ask for feedback right after a big presentation.  Below are some questions that you can ask right after a big presentation:

i. How did the presentation go?

ii. Do you think I did a good job answering the questions? 

iii. How do you think the proposal landed because I heard xyz in the room?

b. Carefully, choose the people you ask to provide you with feedback - you can ask managers and senior leaders for feedback. When asking for feedback don’t forget to ask for specific examples, to get a better understanding of what event led to your manager giving you that specific piece of feedback.

If you are a leader giving feedback - give feedback on the content which was presented rather than how articulate the presenter was or how the presenter presented the content.  

9. Communicate your working style and get a sense of the working and communication style of your manager by asking the right questions

a. When communicating your working style, what I have found most helpful is Jerry Lee’s idea of creating a “Working with” doc. Depending on the time, and other items you want to cover with your manager during your initial 1:1, either go over your “Working with” doc together or just have 3 quick bullet points which convey how you work best. You can find my “Working with” doc here. 

i. To get a better sense of the working and communication style of your manager, you can ask the following questions:

1. What is your personal definition of success? 
2. What is your philosophy and how do you deal with mistakes made by direct reports?
3. What is your approach to dealing with conflict between team members or adjacent teams? 
4. Do you prefer if your direct reports work independently or do decision making be a collaborative effort between you and them? 
5. What skills or behaviors do most successful people on your team embody?
6. How do you approach delivering negative feedback?