Lessons from The White House

The White House Internship Program is designed to cultivate young leaders and give them an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and gain exposure to the public service sector via an Executive Office assignment. Naturally, there’s a lot of exposure to v important public sector leaders. Throughout my time there, I jotted down notes from mentoring meetings, brown bags, round tables and the like. Compiled below are some of the best advice I received in the most magical place in DC.

On Policy

These are people issues, not women of color issues
Your pitch should be tailored to your audience. “If they can’t connect emotionally, they probably can’t connect economically” (And you want them to connect economically!)
Politics are good, you can change things for the better [through policy]
I don’t expect the government to solve my problems, I expect them to understand it
Campaigns are supposed to be referendums on policy
The penalty good people pay for not being in politics is being governed by people worse than themselves – Plato
Change demand, change the market and policy will follow. We (the people) lead politicians not the other way around
If you didn’t vote, life wasn’t that bad for you for real

Advice to “head-strong” women

Pick your battles
Spend your energy on doing better (not complaining how unfair it is)
Be strategic but don’t let them know you’re strategic
Prove yourself (that takes self-confidence) Build up to be the person that they need and let them come to you

Be strategic but don’t let them know you’re strategic

On Intellectual Gravitas

Look beyond pedigree
Don’t let others determine what or who you should be
Don’t judge people based on their reputation or looks
It’s appropriate to question their judgment but no their motive. If you attack someone’s motive, they’ll retreat and you’re unlikely to reach a deal

On Career Progression

Be you… consistently
Find your why then your what
Don’t aspire to a title, we need whole people
You won’t have a clear vision until you are no longer afraid
Your narrative should be positive
Execution > strategy; Strategy is 10% and execution is 90%
Focus on the positive (when you start thinking about how crazy the world is)
[Have] Honesty, decency, courage, and authenticity
Pay attention to detail in the mundane things; Excellence is in the mundane task and consistency
Dignity & Respect
Be Kind, Be Useful, Be Fearless

Be you… consistently

My biggest take away is the Obama’s standard of treating everyone with respect from interns to other world leaders. ❤️ That’s a quality I personally, strive for.