One Team Across Missions and Miles
How collaboration across borders and disciplines transforms development work and defines true leadership.
After nearly two decades working across Ghana, Georgia, Central Asia, Somalia, and Washington, D.C., I have learned one leadership lesson that transcends geography, politics, and organizational charts:
The most successful projects are never about the project. They are about the people.
When I joined the US Agency for International Development (USAID), I expected my career to revolve around strategies, budgets, and performance indicators. Instead, I found myself working alongside engineers rebuilding roads in remote communities, demining teams clearing farmland, civil society leaders advocating for accountability, and local staff whose knowledge and dedication transformed how we approached development.
No matter the country, the greatest successes came when we embraced a simple principle: One Team.
In international development, it is easy to operate in silos. Technical experts focus on their sectors. Government officials focus on policy. Implementing partners focus on delivery. Donors focus on oversight. Yet real progress happens only when everyone understands that they are working toward the same goal.
I saw this firsthand in Ghana, where ministries, local organizations, and private-sector partners came together to design solutions that communities would ultimately own. In Georgia, engineers, economists, governance specialists, and local municipalities aligned around a shared vision for strengthening democratic institutions and promoting economic growth. In Central Asia, teams worked across multiple countries, adapting to different realities while remaining connected to a common regional strategy.
Perhaps nowhere was the importance of One Team more evident than in Somalia.
Operating in a high-risk environment required extraordinary trust. Travel was limited, communication was often difficult, and challenges emerged daily. Yet our teams found innovative ways to stay connected to the communities we served. Together with Somali partners, we launched Lama Huraan, a radio drama that used storytelling to promote governance, reconciliation, and hope. The success of the initiative was not the result of one organization or one individual. It was the product of people working together across institutions, disciplines, and cultures.
Throughout my career, I have discovered that leadership is less about directing people and more about creating the conditions for collaboration. It means listening before speaking, building trust before demanding results, and seeing colleagues not as resources to manage but as individuals whose perspectives strengthen the team.
Some of the most important lessons came from local staff, whose insights helped us understand complexities that no report could capture. Others came from difficult situations that required balancing accountability with empathy. Leadership is not about avoiding conflict or eliminating challenges; it is about helping teams navigate them together.
The projects I managed produced measurable results: new infrastructure, stronger institutions, expanded economic opportunities, and improved services. But those outcomes were only possible because of the relationships behind them.
Today, when people ask me what sustained me through years of demanding assignments, the answer is simple: the people. The colleagues who became mentors and friends. The young professionals who grew into leaders. The local partners whose resilience and commitment inspired me every day.
Leadership is often described as the ability to influence others. I believe it is something more. Leadership is the ability to bring people together around a shared purpose and help them achieve something greater than any one person could accomplish alone.
Whether in international development, government, business, or the nonprofit sector, the principle remains the same:
Success is never an individual achievement. It is the result of One Team working toward a common mission.
That is the most important lesson I have carried across missions and miles—and one that continues to guide my leadership journey today.
