Kamala Harris on why never taking ‘no’ for answer served her career
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris attends the 56th NAACP Image Awards held at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2025 in Pasadena, California.
Etienne Laurent | Reuters
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she has never taken “no” for an answer throughout her career and attributes much of her success to that attitude.
Harris, who served as vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, shared some candid insights about the early career of Steven Bartlett. Diary of a CEO podcast.
Asked what he was like as a 25-year-old prosecutor, Harris said: “He was fearless. He didn’t hear, ‘No, it can’t be done.'”
Harris recalled the first case she faced as a young prosecutor: It was a Friday evening, and the person arrested was a young woman with a child at home.
“All the courts were closing, and I went into the courtroom and asked the judge: ‘Please come back to the bench. She has young children. She can’t stay here for the weekend,'” Harris said.
“And the clerk said: ‘No, he’s gone for the day. He’s leaving for the day.’ “I didn’t leave, so they filed the lawsuit.”
This determination has served Harris well throughout his career. After serving as a U.S. senator and attorney general in California, she became the first Black, South Asian American and female vice president.
“Not hearing ‘no’ has probably been the crux of my life. I’m not comfortable with the idea that something isn’t possible, I can’t be comfortable with the idea without at least trying to show that it’s possible and it’s probably not going to change,” he added.
Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee after he dropped out of the race in 2024, but lost to President Donald Trump.
Overcoming imposter syndrome
Harris admitted to experiencing imposter syndrome in her career, especially when she was first elected district attorney in 2004.
“And I was sitting there in the office and I thought: ‘Oh my God, I’m now the elected prosecutor of a major city in the United States,'” the former vice president said on the podcast, adding that he felt great responsibility in his role.
But he put a positive spin on imposter syndrome, saying there’s nothing wrong with a little humility.
“I think there’s a lot of good in having a certain level of humility and understanding, especially when people give you a lot of power, that it’s not about you. I think that’s part and parcel of what we call imposter syndrome… I think it’s because they understand how serious the work is for other people, and I appreciate some honest humility, not fake humility,” he said.
At other points in the podcast, Harris recalled walking into meetings and people wondering where her boss was. He said that not prioritizing other people’s opinions has greatly benefited him.
“When I mentor people, I often tell them: ‘Never limit yourself based on other people’s limited ability to see who you are,'” he added. “That’s their limitation…don’t force those limitations on yourself.”
