Michelle Obama casts ‘go high’ as discipline over reaction
The former first lady told Alex Cooper that her 2016 motto is about managing the impact of words, especially for people with power.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Michelle Obama has revisited her “go high” motto, telling Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast that the phrase is about choosing words and actions with their consequences in mind. Obama said leadership and public platforms carry power, comparing them to a gun that needs a safety lock.
Obama made the phrase famous at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where she said, “When they go low, we go high.” Fortune reported that Obama and her family used the idea as a way to respond to cruelty and intense public scrutiny during Barack Obama’s campaign and presidency.
On the podcast episode published in January, Obama said the line should not be read as a call to ignore anger or hurt. She described the approach as “outcome determinative,” saying people with influence should think about where their emotions will lead before they speak or act.
Leadership and having a platform is “like a gun,” Obama told Cooper. “Learn how to use it, put the safety lock on. Because you can cause a lot of damage, but you can also do a lot of good.”
Obama said people in positions of influence do not need to deny their feelings. Her point, she told Cooper, is that leaders should consider what they are trying to accomplish and let that guide how they communicate.
She said that kind of restraint can prevent public “tantrums” and help leaders come across as composed and clear. Fortune reported that Obama applies the principle in her work, including at Higher Ground Productions, the company she founded with Barack Obama.
Obama also connected the idea to private life. She told Cooper that the kitchen table can be a place to vent, but said people often inflate problems in the moment and later discover that some of what they said in anger was not accurate or did not reflect how they felt.
“You’ll find out that half the stuff you threw out there in anger isn’t even true, and it’s not how you really feel,” Obama said. “So now you should go out and communicate what you really feel, really clearly. To me, that’s what going high is.”
Fortune reported that the theme also appears in Obama’s book The Look, which examines her style, identity and public presentation. The article linked her comments to the leadership concept of emotional intelligence, citing psychologist Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
Goleman wrote that people who cannot manage distressing emotions, show self-awareness or build effective relationships will struggle regardless of intelligence. Fortune also cited Simon Sinek, who wrote in a September 2025 blog post that leaders should serve people and the mission rather than their own egos.
Fortune noted a similar theme in Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s leadership language. Nadella told Fortune in 2024 that Microsoft must “stay humble, stay hungry, and exhibit a growth mindset,” as he discussed shifting the company away from a defensive “know-it-all” culture toward a “learn-it-all” approach.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.