Young people must learn to endure bad bosses if they want to become leaders themselves, Michelle Obama has said. Speaking at a live podcast recording in east London, the former First Lady said the younger generation need to learn to be more resilient rather than expect instant career satisfaction.
She said: 'That's what I want young people to understand. That every experience, the bad boss, the boring assistant job, the job you thought that you weren't appreciated, the one that didn't give you the assignment you wanted when you wanted it - all of that is learning to be resilient.'
Mrs Obama, 62, was speaking at a packed recording of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, at the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. Alongside her brother, she was a keynote speaker for the SXSW London festival, a music, technology and business festival in the capital.
She urged young professionals not to give up when given mundane tasks or when faced with setbacks. She said: 'I think a lot of young people want to do what they want to do, or what they are good at. But you have got to earn that, carrying some bags and having some tough times and having people treat you unfairly. Not giving you the raise when you think you deserve it, there's character building that gets you ready down the line before being your own manager, being your own leader.'
Since leaving the White House, the Ivy League educated lawyer has become a media entrepreneur. In 2018 she released her memoir, Becoming, which sold more than 17 million copies. She then founded a production company, Higher Ground, alongside her husband Barack, 64. In 2019 a documentary made by the company called American Factory won an Academy Award. The Obamas also served as executive producers behind the 2023 Netflix apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind, starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke.
Last year Mrs Obama launched the IMO podcast along with her older brother Craig Robinson, where the pair speak about parenting, business and even dating. Speaking on the podcast last year, she spoke about the importance of showing your children you're capable of struggling, amid divorce rumors between herself and Barack. She cryptically told her guest, Mara Brock Ali: 'Sometimes we don't realize we parent out of our fears; we parent out of our desire not to feel the hurt, and we couch it in terms of, "we're doing it for them." [Our children] need to see our flaws,' the mom-of-two insisted. 'It is so helpful for them.'
She shared her past struggles with her daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24. 'It's something Barack and I try to remember all the time, seeing the vulnerability, seeing the fears, it kind of gives them, I've found, permission to have those same emotions,' she shared. 'We think we're shielding them but when my girls perk up its when we talk about failure right?' she continued. 'And to see two parents who have succeeded at a certain level, we have to make it a point right?'
The IMO host continued: 'They weren't around when we were grinding, struggling, we lost congressional bid, when I failed the bar the first time, when we had an argument - they were too young for that.' In July, last year she also addressed divorce rumors on the podcast. 'There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,' Michelle said passionately about Barack. She continued: 'And we've had some really hard times. So, we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I'm married to.'
The SXSW London event is an offshoot of the South by Southwest festival in Austin Texas, which has run for nearly four decades. The US version has hosted the likes of Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Meghan Markle in the past. SXSW first took place in 1987 as a music festival but has since grown to incorporate film, television, video games and technology. It has also been a launch location for movies and TV shows as well as a showcase for singers early in their careers and businesses in their early stages. Musicians such as Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Amy Winehouse all made early appearances there. X, formerly Twitter, promoted itself there in its early days in 2007 as did Uber, now the largest ridesharing company in the world.
