NYU's general counsel discusses managing global risk

In this podcast, Aisha Oliver-Staley, New York University's senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary, joins Heidrick & Struggles' Victoria Reese to discuss the challenges of onboarding remotely and managing risk both within her own career and as general counsel for a global institution. She also shares what leadership skills have been essential as she navigates her new role and leads her team, as well as the ways NYU as a whole is building on the lessons of 2020 and 2021.

Some questions answered in this episode include the following:

• (1:04) What was it like to start your first general counsel role at one of the world’s most prominent research universities in January of 2021? What were the challenges? And, more importantly, what were the positive surprises?
• (3:34) As the general counsel, how do you think about managing global risk?
• (6:08) Lawyers are considered by some as risk averse, yet at a great time of uncertainty and turmoil you chose to change jobs and move cities. What propelled you forward?
• (7:31) What leadership skills and experiences have you found to be essential as you navigate this new role and lead your team?
• (9:58) Prior to NYU and Georgia Tech, you were an associate and McKenna Long & Aldridge in Atlanta. How would you say having these differentiated experiences—at a law firm and in academia—helped you develop as a leader?

Below is a full transcript of the episode, which has been edited for clarity.

Welcome to the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. Heidrick is the premier global provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. Diversity and inclusion, leading through tumultuous times, and building thriving teams and organizations are among the core issues we talk with leaders about every day, including in our podcasts. Thank you for joining the conversation.

Victoria Reese: Hi, I'm Victoria Reese, partner at Heidrick & Struggles and the global managing partner of our General Counsel Practice. In today's podcast, I'm talking to Aisha Oliver-Staley, New York University's senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. Prior to joining NYU in January of 2021, Aisha was the chief ethics and compliance officer and deputy general counsel at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Aisha, welcome, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

Aisha Oliver-Staley: Thank you for having me, Victoria, I'm very excited to be here.

Victoria Reese: Aisha, what was it like to start your first general counsel role at one of the world’s most prominent research universities in January of 2021? What were the challenges? And, more importantly, what were the positive surprises?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: Starting a new job in January 2021 was a little bit strange because we were still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everybody was still working remotely. I didn't have the benefits of lunches or other sorts of informal, in-person introductions. I had to be very intentional about scheduling video meetings with all the different stakeholders and members of my team. I met with each person individually, even members of the board of trustees. So that consumed a lot more time, unsurprisingly. That was a challenge. But it was important that I connected with stakeholders as a new person coming into such a big institution, so it definitely was worth the time. But, on the flip side, a positive outcome or surprise that came from that was that I was able to make those connections. We returned to working in person in August and I was very surprised to run into people in the hallways or in the lobby areas and be able to interact with them [finally.] And I realized that I was able to make those connections after all, and I think it really was because I placed a lot of emphasis on ensuring all those video calls had value and were meaningful connections.

Victoria Reese: NYU is known for being a leading academic institution in so many areas and is, of course, based in New York City. However, NYU has a truly global presence, with campuses all over the world in 25 countries, including Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, with 19,000 employees. As the general counsel, how do you think about managing global risk?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: With respect to managing global risk, I think the key is understanding that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for a global enterprise like NYU. I think it’s important that we strike a balance between what the university's risk philosophy is as an enterprise and balance that with any nuances that are specific to particular jurisdictions around the world. And then, as part of that, I think it's important that I identify and then teach, strong local talent in each of our locations so that my team and myself and the university always have some on-the-ground understanding of the consequences of taking certain actions. And we can use the information provided by those local resources to make informed decisions that are based on the university's risk tolerance on the relevant issues.

Victoria Reese: Following up on that, were you attracted to NYU because of its global footprint?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: Absolutely. So, I love working in higher ed. I love higher ed because of its mission. Institutions of higher education advance conversations and the development of technology, science, arts, politics, and a whole host of other areas. NYU was an opportunity for me to contribute to this impact on a larger scale.

So, for example, I need to be signing a lease or negotiating space in the building, but that building may end up being used by a student who will go on to win a Nobel Peace Prize or become a Rhodes Scholar. And as they advance, whether it’s in thought leadership or making discoveries, I feel like I am part of that as general counsel. I'm a part of that advancement and that impact. So, being at a global enterprise like NYU means that my impact is bigger; it’s wider; it crosses oceans. So, I was absolutely drawn to NYU because of its global footprint.

Victoria Reese: Lawyers are considered by some as risk averse, yet at a great time of uncertainty and turmoil you chose to change jobs and move cities. What propelled you forward?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: I think we begin to appreciate that our default shouldn't be where we land, necessarily. At least we should begin to see it that way. So, in thinking about making this move in the midst of all of this uncertainty—we’re in a pandemic, I had not had much contact with New York City, and I didn’t have the opportunity to meet in person many of the people with whom I interviewed. So, from a risk perspective, the default, the easy thing, would have been to stay with what I know, right? I loved living in Georgia. I built a tremendous community in Metro Atlanta, and I enjoyed the work that I was doing. I really loved higher ed. But this position [at NYU] was an opportunity to stretch myself professionally and to have a larger impact. And, as I said before, still working in a space that I absolutely love. So, I had to sort of adjust from my default and recognize this as the fantastic opportunity it was, and that the upside of this experience would outweigh the risks of the move. So, I closed my eyes and I jumped in and thus far I don't have any regrets.

Victoria Reese: What leadership skills and experiences have you found to be essential as you navigate this new role and lead your team?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: You know, the skill that comes immediately to my mind is communication. When I started here at NYU, as I mentioned before, we were all on video conference. So, the ability to effectively communicate with people who had never worked with me before, with people whom I leading as the head of a unit, with faculty, with staff—I think communication became a premium. You know, when you're on video conferences, you don’t get the benefit of all the nonverbal communication that enhances how we are perceived by others. So, I had to be really intentional and think about what I was trying to convey and how to convey it, and what tone I was using and how I was showing up when I communicated with others. Those were skills that I've developed over my life in leadership, in different ways, on boards of nonprofits and in prior work environments. I think that all of that experience communicating at all levels to all different types of people really helped me think about how I was going to communicate in an all-virtual environment.

I think the other piece of communication was listening, that is, the ability to listen as a leader. And as a leader, you have to listen to the things that are said, but also the things that remain unsaid, and still be appropriately responsive. On a video chat, it’s very easy to get lost in your own thoughts. You're not there in person. So, it’s important to be an attentive and active listener and be mindful that I need to be attentive and active, especially when I'm meeting new people, to build my credibility with a new group of people, with a new team of people. So, I think cultivating listening skills, again, over the course of my career has been incredibly helpful to me. That was the leadership skill that helped me have an effective transition.

Victoria Reese: Prior to NYU and Georgia Tech, you were an associate and McKenna Long & Aldridge in Atlanta. How would you say having these differentiated experiences—at a law firm and in academia—helped you develop as a leader?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: You know, the easy answer is that I was able to develop a wide range of substantive skills in very different environments. [At the firm] I was able to see multiple clients and see how multiple organizations worked and then when I moved to Georgia Tech it was a single client, so I was able to really understand the depth and the operations of that particular environment. But I think the thing that suited me best about moving from the law firm to academia is the training and clients. The law firm model is very much quiet, driven, and about the ability to be responsive to your clients. Communicating clearly with your clients is one of those skill sets that get hammered into you while you're at a law firm. I was able to translate that when I moved in-house to Georgia Tech to being able to identify who I was providing a service to and what that service needed to look like. So, though I have the substantive legal skills, it’s the ability to take that substantive knowledge and make it palatable and easy to understand for whomever my client is and make sure that it will [address] their business challenge very specifically. Sometimes I think that’s easier to do when you're working with multiple clients because you know that the answer you used for client B will not necessarily work for client A, obviously. But when you're in the university and the university is your client, you're working with many different people who work in the same organization, so you have to think a little bit more about each stakeholder individually; even though they're part of a single enterprise, they have different challenges they’re trying to solve. And you may have to communicate a little bit differently or explain things a little bit differently depending on who you’re speaking to. So, I think a tremendous upside of my experience was being able to develop those clients-specific skills.

On the downside, if I had to say there was a downside… I was a purely transactional lawyer when I was at the law firm, because, you know, there's tremendous value in being a specialist in the law firm environment. But because I was a transactional lawyer, I didn't have extensive experience on the litigation side when I moved to Georgia Tech. But over time, as I worked in academia, I was able to acquire some of the other skills that I didn't learn on the transactional side. And I continue to develop those skills even more here at NYU.

Victoria Reese: Aisha, as we bring this conversation to a close, I want to ask one final question: as you reflect back and think about the future, what's the most important way New York University is building on the lessons of the past year?

Aisha Oliver-Staley: It's been a tough year, Victoria. Nationally, globally, it's been a tough year. For NYU, I think what we're building on is having been put in the position of really having to listen to our people, our community, our employees, our staff. Because, the past year and a half has been full of so much upheaval and anxiety and pitched rhetoric about things that polarize us. As part of ensuring that our community is okay and is moving forward, we have to listen to their needs even more.

People have had time to assess what is important to them personally and as members of our community, and we need to pay attention to those things. So, as we evolve, we're thinking about things like work-life balance issues and childcare issues, asking how we can evolve and be better employers in that space. How can we provide for our community and make their lives better? Those are the lessons that we are building on from the past year. People are our greatest asset and we need to listen. We need to spend as much time as we can listening and being responsive.

Victoria Reese: Aisha, thank you for making the time to speak with us today. It's always a pleasure.

Aisha Oliver-Staley: The pleasure was mine. Thank you again for having me. I hope we get to chat again sometime soon.

Thanks for listening to the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. To make sure you don’t miss more future-shaping ideas and conversations, please subscribe to our channel on the podcast app. And if you’re listening via LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube, why not share this with your connections? Until next time.

About the interviewer

Victoria Reese (vreese@heidrick.com) is the global managing partner of the Corporate Officers practices, head of the General Counsel Practice, and leads the global Legal, Risk, Compliance & Government Affairs Practice; she is based in Heidrick & Struggles' New York office.