Say It Skillfully® – Rima Assiryani, Finding Common Ground

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. Episode 171 is the 34th monthly feature of “Our Voices,” intended to accelerate social change that levels the playing field—helping everyone live to their full potential. The aim is for you to see a bit of yourself in these journeys, and embrace—we’re more similar than not. In this episode, Molly is joined by Rima Assiryani, who shares a childhood unlike most of ours, growing up as a Christian in Jordan, a predominantly Muslim country. She shares how this affected her mentality and day to day life. Then, she goes in depth on her education and early career as an architect, noting that she was very unsure of herself at first, and describes the process of gaining trust in her skillset and work ethic—building the confidence she needed to go further in her career and work in the States. Having immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan in 2001, Rima talks us through the process of integrating into a new culture, and praises the community she moved to for being accepting and diverse. She also lets us in on the good, the bad, and the ugly of of raising a multicultural family while working as an architect. Rima inspires all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action safe, seen and heard, and our true best selves. Molly’s thought for the week: Embrace failing as essential to learning… FAIL = First Attempt In Learning