A reflective essay on the power of collaborative leadership, exploring how bringing people together around shared purpose drives success across international development, government, and organizational work.
Her Story
About Monika
I grew up during communism in Poland and always had this passion for public service and travel. I'm a machine in terms of delivering - I'm really focused and I like doing things where I can see results. After getting my bachelor's degree in Poland, I moved to the United States and worked at different NGOs. Then I moved to Ukraine for the State Department and got a job as a Foreign Service Officer with the Agency for International Development. My area was in program and project management, responsible for budget management, strategies, deliveries of results, measuring, compliance, and communication. It was a dream job for almost 18 years, serving the public in different countries while doing what I love and what I'm good at - just really delivering. A leader has a vision, and I know how to operationalize it, how to make it happen, how to show outcomes for that policy or vision. I go step by step: what needs to be done, where is it going to take us, how long it will take, how much it will cost, who can do it, what are the gaps in skills. I have this quick analytical thinking, and that's what my entire 18 years with USAID was about - operationalizing vision. As an immigrant woman joining Foreign Service, I was promoted really quickly through the ladder of leadership. It usually takes people 15 to 18 years to get from the bottom grade of Foreign Service 6 to FS1, the leadership position, but it took me only 12 years. I served in Ghana, Central Asia (a big regional mission with 5 different countries), and Somalia, where I was in my third year when the agency was dissolved and I was pulled back to the United States. In Somalia, I worked on programs like educating children - it costs only $125 a year to educate one child there, and educating children means they're not recruited by al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization. After the agency was dissolved, I didn't give up. I wrote a book called 'Beneath the Slack' that was published in January - it's a former Foreign Service officer's guidance on how to make policy a reality. I got my current job as Director of Operations at the Mike Pompeo Foundation purely by myself, no connections, no networking, just pure sheer will of really wanting to work again.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Monika
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to patience and persistence, and not just giving up on every obstacle I face. I see each challenge as just a stepping stone and keep moving forward. That philosophy really got me here. As an immigrant who came to the United States when I was young, I was able to accomplish all this through sheer determination. I have this appreciation for myself and who I am, and that lets me continue. Even after what happened last year when the agency was dissolved, I didn't give up. I wrote a book, did a lot of networking, and got my current job purely by myself with no connections - just pure sheer will of really wanting to work again. I'm really focused and I'm a machine in terms of delivering. I like doing things where I can see results, and I have this quick analytical thinking that helps me operationalize vision and make policy a reality.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received came from my mentor Sarah Walter when I served in Central Asia. She taught me how to reflect and just listen. I'm Polish and I have this fire sort of response and personality - I just say what it is and respond quickly with 'no, let's not do this, this is crazy.' But she taught me that even if from the get-go I think something is a no-go, letting people talk and just listening gives them space and builds trust. Even if we ultimately say no because it's not possible, people still know they can come and explore ideas with us. She would say 'let's just say this is interesting, and let them talk, and let's just listen, and then nod.' This approach taught me that we're all different and people express themselves differently, and if we can just listen, it really changes the dynamics between leadership and the offices. I will always be grateful for this teaching.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say what I had was magical. It was a truly incredible career. If someone wants to go into the Foreign Service career, I would highly encourage it because there are no two days the same. The idea of moving to a country and just embracing their culture, the people, and then helping the society is so interesting and really magical. If you are brave and if you want to have the life of eternal exploration, that's a fantastic life to live. However, I would also give a reality check that it's not all rosy. It can be difficult because you have to move every 2-3 years, and it doesn't matter if you're single or have a family, it's always hard. It can be hard on a spouse to find work, it's hard on ourselves to find friends, you learn new cuisine, language, smells, traffic - everything changes. But if that's what you want, if you want that life of exploration, it's incredible and magical. I miss it every day.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is the one team philosophy - understanding how much we can accomplish if we don't undermine each other, if the leader is supportive of the team, and the team understands the leader's vision. I learned this from my first mission director in Ghana who really embraced this philosophy. He knew everyone's name despite how busy he was and always had time to talk to people. I also value delivering results and being able to see the outcomes of my work. I'm really focused and I like doing things where I can see results. I believe that if any organization, no matter how big or small, has a policy or vision, even if it seems far-reaching, it's possible to make it a reality and have results for it. That's my professional brand - operationalizing vision and making policy a reality. I also believe in volunteering and giving back, which is why I'm involved in multiple professional organizations and volunteer with my son at the homeless shelter.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Monika
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.
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