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In show business, they say that its all about who you know.
Well, youre in luck, because now you know Priyanka!
Obviously, thats changing, for the better.
This is all new territory, and I feel like Im working off an outdated playbook.
You want to be better than that.
What do you want to hold onto from those jobs?
What behavior do you want to eradicate?
What motivated and discouraged you in those early rooms?
How do you want people to feel (and talk) about your workplace?
I understand you probably want to be liked, but you cant control that.
If Im on a show, Im looking to expand the shows brain.
And youre not going to get those points of view by making them stay quiet.
Its part of the process.
And then people chill out a little bit and we start to get the good stuff.
It leads to a much funnier room if no one is shaming people for saying something they consider dumb.
I would never in a million years have been able to pitch something that specific and funny.
I needed her perspective, says Hubbard.
He chuckles at where the joke ended up.
This was before the Eras tour, he adds.
Would it have made you less effective or simply saved you the debilitating stress that still haunts you today?
One writer teased him about this white-man speech, which, he says, was fair.
But his self-awareness set the tone for a warm and well-run room.
The wonderful thing about a learning process is you get tolearn.
You wont always know the right thing to say.
You will get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Mid/upper-level writers from underrepresented backgrounds are generally employed.
Hopefully, thegains from the WGA agreementwill rebuild the showrunner pipeline as well.
Of course, all of this listening and learning wont be without conflict.
This next year in TV is going to be an exceptionally weird one.
Stress levels will be high.
When youre trying to achieve something and feel unsupported, maybe take a second to listen to the chorus.
Work probably felt a lot smoother for you when you were surrounded by people who remind you of yourself.
They are not focused on taking you down personally.
I know one showrunner didnt hire me because she thought Id get her canceled, says Jones.
And I thought,Well, just dont be racist.
Culture is always evolving this isnt a new thing.
Now you have to be creative instead of relying on tropes.
If you cant achieve it, thats not their fault, thats a failure of leadership.
), look to the future.
Talk them through some bad ones to get to the good.
Heck, have them write or co-write the ideas you dont have the time or energy to write.
Share your shine, your agency, and your relationships.
Give your writers credit.
Talk about them like theyre the future of the business, because they are.
But your growth wont be limited to work.
I know how easily your world its my world too can shrink to the size of a postage stamp.
Work, kids, sleep, a dinner out here and there, and decades fly by.
But youre no longer a scared 20-something kid being hazed by your nightmare boss.
Youarethe boss, and you have everything you wanted back then.
Enjoy it, appreciate it, share it.
Explore things, travel, read fiction, nurture a hobby, make new friends.
The richer your life, the less grumpy youll be at work (and home).
And youll have the energy to pay it all forward.
