At 63 years old, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is arguably having her greatest professional impact on the world, especially as she helps navigate the region’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When she was younger, however, Von der Leyen said she never really pictured her career in her 50s, 60s and beyond.
“I never imagined that. But what I always had were dreams,” she told Know Your Value founder Mika Brzezinski during a panel discussion on Sunday at the Global Citizen NOW thought leadership summit in New York City. “…There is a very nice saying in Germany…the young ones are running faster, but the older ones know the shortcut.”
Von der Leyen was born and raised in Brussels to German parents. She eventually held several positions in Angela Merkel’s cabinet, including minister of defense. She has been president of the European Commission since 2019 and has been heavily involved in Europe’s pandemic recovery plan, the European Green Deal on climate change and implementing sanctions against Russia.
During the conversation with Brzezinski, Von der Leyen also shared her best piece of advice to young women in the audience. She told them, “Never ever let anybody make you [feel like you have] a bad conscious about what you’re doing, never ever. Stick to your dreams, go for it, because only then it is possible to see that you are going much wider than you ever dreamt…” Brzezinski also noted to the young women in the audience that she always felt like she was in a rush in the beginning of her career. The “Morning Joe” co-host, said she has since learned “you have a long runway for your life and your career, so slow down.” Brzezinski continued, “Stay ambitious…but slow down a little bit because you make fewer mistakes if you’re not rushing, hyperventilating, trying to figure how to squeeze it all in to 30 years. You have a lot more time than that to pivot, to reset, to have life interrupt your work and work to interrupt your life.” Brzezinski also shared some wisdom to young women about confidence. “Remember, nobody knows what they’re doing, especially men. They have no idea…they’re always pressing reset… But the thing is, that makes them talented because they never remember bad moments. They don’t remember bad meetings. They don’t remember getting fired. They don’t care…We [women] hold all that negativity and think we should live and feed of it.”
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