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Shonda Rhimes on saying yes to what scares you
2025/4/22
Worklife with Adam Grant
S
Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes: 我创作的电视剧意外地激励了许多年轻女性投身科学和医学领域，这超出了我的预期。我过去总是说"不"，这让我赢得了许多人的尊重，但我也错过了很多机会。我是一名讲故事的人，我的工作是通过讲故事来娱乐大众，并通过故事来反映生活和人性。我小时候的梦想是成为像托妮·莫里森那样的作家，后来我意识到自己更喜欢通过写作来探索不同的职业和世界。我在职业生涯早期经历了很长时间的摸索，直到我意识到自己对电影制作的热爱，才开始真正走上成功之路。我进入电影学院的原因仅仅是为了满足父母的期望，并非出于真正的兴趣。我最初创作剧本的目的是为了决定是否继续留在好莱坞，而不是去读医学院。《实习医生格蕾》的成功取决于一个剧本的售卖，如果没有成功，我就会去读医学院。
在创作《实习医生格蕾》的过程中，由于缺乏经验，我常常需要自己制定规则，并克服来自他人的质疑。我在职业生涯中学会了说"不"，这让我能够更好地保护自己的时间和精力，避免被不必要的任务所拖累。我善于巧妙地指出他人的错误，而不至于冒犯他们，从而提升团队的效率和领导力。我曾经是一个害怕说"是"的内向者，直到我决定接受所有让我害怕的挑战，才真正改变了自己的生活。做让你害怕的事情能够克服恐惧。进行艰难的对话能够带来积极的结果，即使这些对话令人不舒服。我早期职业生涯中常常说"不"是为了保护自己的身心健康和职业发展。我的书《说“是”的一年》并非鼓励人们盲目地说"是"，而是鼓励人们学会区分哪些事情值得说"是"，哪些事情应该说"不"。我会对那些让我感到兴奋或者我能有所贡献的事情说"是"。人们应该定期尝试那些令他们感到害怕的事情。在决定是否接受一项任务时，要考虑自己能做出独特的贡献。要小心你对谁说"是"，避免被他人过度利用。奥普拉·温弗里曾经指出我并没有享受成功，这让我意识到自己需要更好地享受生活和工作。随着经验的积累，我逐渐学会了欣赏自己的作品，并从中获得乐趣。
我信奉信任员工，并赋予他们充分的自主权。我学习了如何与高管沟通，以有效地获得反馈并改进创作工作。向高管提供反馈时，应该专注于指出问题本身，而不是直接提供解决方案。我将失败视为学习和成长的机会，而不是一味地追求成功。我根据市场需求调整了创作方向，最终创作出了《实习医生格蕾》。面对挫折，我会寻找其他的方法来实现目标。我坚信没有克服不了的困难，只有需要寻找的解决方法。我选择加入Netflix是因为我认为这代表着电视行业未来的发展方向。我选择离开ABC是因为我感觉自己已经掌握了制作传统电视剧的技巧，不再有新的学习机会。在做出重大改变时，我会确保我的团队能够理解并适应新的环境。领导者应该跟随自己的兴趣和直觉，而不是盲目地遵循他人的建议。在危机管理中，诚实和坦诚至关重要。在危机中，要勇于承担责任，并坦诚面对事实。在危机中，不要试图掩盖真相，而应该以诚实和正直的态度来应对。领导者应该及时向团队成员提供信息，避免谣言的传播。“看一遍、做一遍、教一遍”的学习方法适用于各种技能的掌握和培训。作家可以从领导者那里学习领导力技巧，而领导者可以从作家那里学习创造性思维。作家应该学习领导者的创造性思维，并将其应用于自己的工作中。领导者和作家都必须具备讲故事的能力。讲故事的关键在于原创性和清晰的叙事结构。《布里杰顿家族》的成功在于其独特的品牌建设和创新营销策略。我现在努力提升的是理解员工需求的能力。我通过与公司新任命的联合总裁合作，来改进自己的领导能力。领导者应该勇于质疑自己和现有的流程。领导者应该经常问自己“为什么”，以便更好地做出决策。
Adam Grant: 内向型领导者在领导积极主动的团队时更有效率。
supporting_evidences
Shonda Rhimes: 'I just was a person who always said no if I felt like no was the answer.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I always say I'm a storyteller.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I wanted to be Toni Morrison.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I flailed for a long time.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And the only reason I went to film school was because my parents are professors.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And I said to myself, I'm going to write this movie script.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So are you saying that McDreamy and Meredith Grey, the whole cast, hung in the balance of one script being sold? Yes, definitely.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So I was in a position where I did not often understand what the actual rules were because I had never worked in television before.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And so many people in that town were so... desperate for their shot and for a job and for an opportunity that they would never say no.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I would always let them talk for a while and I wouldn't say much.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I was a deep introvert and I was afraid.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'What I learned most of all is that the thing you're afraid of, doing the thing undoes the fear.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I always feel like peace is now on the other side of a difficult conversation.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So I spent time saying no, really trying to protect my own peace.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'But also the book is not about saying whether or not you can say yes.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I say yes to things that feel exciting to me or that I can bring something to.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'You should always do the things that freak you out and scare you at some point in time.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'Still, be careful who you say yes to because somebody will discover that you can do something unique and then they will try to make you do it again and again and again for them.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And as she was leaving, Oprah grabbed my hand and said, "You're not enjoying any of this." And she was right.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'By the time we hit Scandal, I was really able to sit back and just be proud of the work and enjoy it and find things that were funny.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And we found that if you had a really reactive, passive team that was looking for direction, the extroverts were more effective.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And if I've hired you and I don't have faith in you enough to do that job, then why have I hired you?'
Shonda Rhimes: 'Writers think that they're making magical plays and stories that work.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'Tell me what your problem is. Tell me what's not working for you.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I didn't look at that like a failure.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So I wrote Grey's Anatomy.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'Sometimes it was feedback. Sometimes it was they're absolutely wrong, so I'm going to go around and figure out how to make that happen anyway.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'that there are no such thing as obstacles.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'things were going fine. But things were going fine.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'And I felt like I wasn't learning anything new.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'My biggest issue or concern was my team, the people who worked on our shows, make sure that they understood and felt like your lives are going to remain the same.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'It is very easy to sit back and just keep doing what you're doing.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'one thing that she always said that was really important was never lie.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So you have to be ready to own your truth and stand in it.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'But you can't pretend a crisis isn't happening.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'a lot of the time you can tell them and then they feel a part of it.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'So first you see it done, then you do it yourself, and then you have to know it well enough to be able to teach it to somebody else.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I think there's a ton that writers can learn from leaders.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'But they're not thinking creatively about other ways that they can either take what they know and apply it or take what they know and add stuff that they don't know to make themselves better.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I absolutely think so. I think that if you can't tell the story of your company, your department, your time there, the story of who you are, you're not really communicating the way you should.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'The one that I adhere to the most is if you've seen it before, don't do it again.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'We have sold and created more merchandise for that show than any other show.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'to be quiet. If you want to get ahead, like you have to not make waves.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'never enter a negotiation you're not willing to walk away from for anything.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I think I'm really trying to get better at understanding the needs of people.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'I think it's really about being free to question yourself and the processes.'
Shonda Rhimes: 'Like if we're going to make a big change as a company, if we're going to innovate a product, my question is, yes, I know we can do it, but why are we doing it?'
Deep Dive
Shonda Rhimes, the acclaimed creator of Grey's Anatomy and other hit TV shows, discusses her career path, the impact of her work, and the revolutionary nature of her storytelling.
- Shonda's initial career aspirations included being a lawyer, doctor, and CIA agent, but she ultimately found fulfillment in writing about those worlds.
- Her work on Grey's Anatomy unintentionally inspired many young women to pursue careers in science and medicine.
- Grey's Anatomy changed the face of television by portraying people of color as people, not simply as representatives of their race.
Shownotes Transcript