'There’s Always a Solution’

Mayuri Gajera (MEM ‘23) has a reputation at defense contractor Northrop Grumman, where she's spent the past two years as a senior engineering leader.

Gajera is known for her ability to calmly handle any challenge that comes with being a leader. It's an ability she developed in Northwestern's Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program.

“I’ve heard from so many people who work with me, ‘You take bad news very well,’” Gajera said. “That wasn't always the case. I would get nervous and think the sky is falling. Now, it’s more like, ‘We’ll figure it out and go from there.’ There’s always a solution.”

That focus and professional maturity translates into effective leadership, a skill Gajera picked up during her four years in the MEM program's part-time option. Gajera took classes at night and on weekends while working full time as an electrical engineer.

In her current role at Northrop Grumman, she works on a variety of classified projects that assist the national defense. National security is why Gajera must skimp on the details or her work, but she did say her role is more like a technical project manager with a focus on hardware.

She credits the MEM program with helping her find success.

“Every class that I took at MEM made me a better person and has given me tools to do my job better,” she said. “It opened up the horizon for me so I actually understand how business works and it has given me tools to be successful.”

Because of the life lessons the program taught her, her MEM class notes remain close at hand.

Notes from a leadership class help her through challenging conflicts. Notes from her strategic management class find their way into her day-to-day hardware development work. Case studies and group exercises mold her project management decisions.

“MEM has played a huge part in my success,” Gajera said. “Those notes make my life so much easier here at work.”

A specific tactic she picked up through the MEM program involves the bad news she is known for handling so well. She never wants any of her team members to first be confronted by that news in a meeting. Instead, Gajera instead finds everyone who will be a part of the meeting and talks to them individually before it starts.

In those one-on-one pre-meetings, Gajera brings the person up to speed on the situation, the risks, and what she plans to do to help address it.  

Then, she says, meetings become far more productive, as participants focus on solutions instead of the shock of the troublesome news.  

“Delivering those difficult messages is hard,” she said. “But that really good strategy that my leadership class taught me has stayed with me, and it helps.”  

The program also taught her to have deeper empathy during tough times. Instead of reacting, she pauses. Then, rather than being frazzled, she absorbs all the known facts and stays under control.  

Above all, Gajera does everything she can to put herself in the position of the person she’s talking with. And, as always, she turns to the mantra: “There is always a solution.” 

“I have learned to not overreact about things. At the end of the day, you’ll find a solution for anything,” she said. “There's nothing in this world that we cannot find a solution for.”