Kamala Harris on why never taking ‘no’ for answer served her career

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said that during her career, she never took “no” for an answer — and attributed much of her success to this attitude.

Harris, who served as vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, shared some candid insights about her early career on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast.

When asked what she was like as a 25-year-old prosecutor, Harris responded: “She was fearless. She didn’t hear ‘no it can’t be done.’”

Harris recalled the first case she had as a young prosecutor: it was a Friday evening, and the person who had been arrested was a young woman with children at home.

“All the courts were shutting down and I went to the courtroom, and I asked the judge: ‘Please take the bench again. She has young children. She can’t stay in over the weekend,’” Harris said.

“And the clerk was like: ‘no, he’s gone for the day. He’s leaving for the day.’ And I would not leave, and they called the case.”

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This persistence has served Harris well throughout her career. She became the first Black, South Asian American, and female vice president after serving as a U.S. senator and attorney general in California.

“Not hearing no, that has probably been a throughline of my life. I don’t rest easy with the idea that something is not possible, at least I don’t rest easy with the idea without trying to show that it is possible and that’s probably not changed,” she added.

In 2024, Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee after he dropped out of the race, but lost to President Donald Trump.

Harris admitted that she experienced imposter syndrome in her career, especially when she was first elected district attorney in 2004.

“And there I was, sitting in the office, and I thought: ‘Oh my god, I’m now the elected DA of a major city in the United States,’” the former vice president said on the podcast, adding that she felt a great responsibility in her role.

However, she put a positive spin on imposter syndrome, saying there’s nothing wrong with having a little humility.

“I think there is a lot that is good with having a certain level of humility, and in particular when the people have vested you with great power, to understand that it’s not about you. I think that is part and parcel of what we call imposter syndrome … I think often it is because they understand how serious the job is on behalf of others, and I applaud a bit of honest humility, not feigned humility, ” she said.

At other points in the podcast, Harris recalled walking into meetings and people wondering where her boss was. She said that deprioritizing other people’s opinions greatly benefited her.

“When I’m mentoring people, I will often say to them: ‘Don’t ever limit yourself based on other people’s limited ability to see who you are,” she added. “That’s their limitation… don’t impose those limitations on yourself.”