Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is known for giving her followers in-depth peeks into her life as a congresswoman in Washington, D.C., through her addictive Instagram — sharing everything from what it's like to speak at a congressional hearing to her adventures in Ikea furniture assembly. On Wednesday, she walked us through the inner workings of how her office operates through Insta Stories, giving us an idea of what it would be like to have AOC as a boss.
After documenting a ribbon-cutting for a community center in Queens, Ocasio-Cortez gave us a glimpse into a district staff meeting. “Once a week, we start our meeting with these conversation cards,” she wrote. “Someone pulls it out of the deck and we go around quickly share our thoughts. I usually say too much ? It’s a great exercise, where our team gets to bond on a more meaningful, human level for a few minutes a week.”
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Then, she showed us what a weekly check-in meeting is like. Apparently, the 29-year-old is as much of a taskmaster as she is a compassionate boss. “I’m a tough cookie when it comes to meeting efficiency, because the demands on my and all our time are intense,” AOC wrote. “For every minute I have, there are 1,000 requests — and 100 of them can be totally valid and legitimate requests… As a result, I ask everyone to WRITE IT DOWN. If you don’t write it down, it doesn’t exist. If you told me about it in between meetings, it doesn’t exist. I’m a reader.”
The freshman lawmaker also showed us that her team assembles her a daily binder of briefs, decision documents, legislative memos, and articles for her to review. “I get a new binder every day.”
While paperwork and meetings may not sound like the most exciting material for Instagram, AOC's use of social media is noteworthy because she invites her constituents and fans into political processes that would otherwise be shrouded in mystery. No wonder her less social media-savvy colleagues are paying attention. The more transparency from elected officials, the better.