Last month, I attended a talk at the 92Y theater in Manhattan featuring the lovely Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling for a follow-up book to Kaling’s best seller, “Why Not Me.” Although the focus of the event was on Kaling’s memoirs, the conversation ended up taking an interesting turn. From their best-looking male co-stars to a rom-com movie pitch (Kaling started planning a romantic comedy starring Fey and George Clooney – fingers crossed!) to being successful authors and show-runners in a male-dominated field, the two funny women touched on a number of subjects. However, one of the highlights of the night was when Fey and Kaling discussed collaboration. Below are the three leadership tips I took away from the fireside chat.

1. You have to be willing to collaborate. Although both women have written successful books on their own, Fey and Kaling attributed their success to the group of people they surrounded themselves with. One of the examples Fey used was creating “West Side Story,” noting that a lot of people had to work together (Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise) and the process was miserable. However, at the same time, trudging through the collaboration process was the only way they were able to get the best stuff out of each other. “To make ‘West Side Story,’ you have to let yourself be tortured by other people,” Fey explained.

2. Know when to say no. Personally, I would love nothing more if Fey or Kaling were the next network late night host. And I think it’s safe to say many viewers agree with me. However, when both of the women were asked if they would like the job, they responded with a resounding no. “But a woman should have one [late night hosting job] for sure,” noted Fey. However, citing Amy Schumer’s “12 Angry Men” skit, Kaling and Fey both agreed they weren’t into that kind of scrutiny.

3. Hustle. Kaling talked about her new booked and described scenerios where it seems she “just got” fame and her own TV show, but she reitereated that all of her success has come from hard work and dedication. “I hustled and worked very hard to be where I am,” said Kaling.