Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

by Alyssa Mastromonaco

You should always be prepared to defend your choices, whether just to yourself (sometimes this is the hardest) or to your coworkers, your friends, or your family. The quickest way for people to lose confidence in your ability to ever make a decision is for you to pass the buck, shrug your shoulders, or otherwise wuss out. Learning how to become a decision maker, and how you ultimately justify your choices, can define who you are.

For me, leadership has always been much more about rallying people around a project or cause than about being held up as the Boss.

one of the hallmarks of a great leader is being able to explain your decisions.

There is no bigger compliment than being intellectually curious about what someone else spends his or her days doing—it

Jobs like this—the kind of job of which there are many, the kind that are definitely good but that no one teaches you to want—are found only with an open mind and a willingness to do your own thing.

We had cocktails during the day, which was very exciting to me at the time. (I feel like day drinking really only came into its own a few years ago.)

“She worked at Sotheby’s—she must be good.” Forward motion is always better than no motion—even if you don’t think it’s taking you in the direction you wanted to go.

Being self-aware means knowing when you’re about to act bad—and then not acting bad.

If anyone but a very trusted friend ever invites you to a bar that plays music from different decades on each floor, beware—it demonstrates a lack of commitment.

There’s not a real resolution here, except the lesson that you should be able to accept the fact that sometimes you’ll fuck up, have to sincerely apologize, and try to move on.

We are all replaceable. Life goes on, but that doesn’t mean it feels good.

One of the good things about being resilient is that, when you’re forced to veer off course, you pick up skills you didn’t realize you needed. That was probably the most I’ve ever struggled professionally, but I’m still here. Being resilient means being honest: You have to admit when you’re struggling. Usually, someone will help you.

Kindness often exists on a smaller scale than the grand gestures popular on social media would have you believe. Though anonymously paying off someone’s student loans or giving a waitress a $5,000 tip are amazing acts of goodwill, things like being willing to cut someone some slack, or making a thoughtful phone call, can help another person so much.