Interviews > Liliana Ayalde
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What can Foreign Service generalists learn from their USAID counterparts?
Foreign Service generalists can very much learn and take advantage of their USAID counterparts’ wisdom and experience. USAID officers have many unique areas of technical expertise they can share. USAID officers not only have deep technical expertise, but also often have longer tours with more time to establish professional contacts and build broad networks, and together with this outreach capacity can make important contributions to the mission. Generalists should take advantage of that.
Did you have a particularly helpful mentor during your career? What did you learn from them?
I have had several throughout my career. As a junior officer, I was lucky to have senior leaders that I could learn from. Later, I had friends and mentors whose opinions I trusted and who I could call on as sounding boards as I considered career choices and made career decisions. My career track was untraditional, so whenever I considered a move it was critical to hear from people who knew me and the work options I was considering. Mentorships are important but are most effective when mentors know your personal goals, skills and expectations, and how career decisions will impact you personally.
You started out with USAID but have worked in Foggy Bottom and most recently as an advisor to SOUTHCOM. What lessons can you share about effective coordination, whether it’s at an embassy or working with the interagency?
Yes, I have been fortunate to work in and with numerous agencies—each with a different culture and mission. As a leader, I saw my job as helping bridge those diverse agency cultures and making sure everyone saw the value of the interagency. For example, when I was Ambassador in Brazil I led the interagency in jointly pulling together the U.S. response to the Zika virus outbreak. In designing our response, I made sure that we heard from every agency and section represented at Post to ensure that we considered the issue from all angles. Ultimately, our Task Force approach was used as a model for missions in the region also impacted by the virus.
This coordination is more easily accomplished at an embassy as there is a Country Team and you know exactly who speaks for which agency. It is much more difficult in Washington where the pace of events is faster, there are various layers of leadership that you need to call on and agendas may be more complex. Much time in Washington is spent building networks that you may need. You don’t have the same level of control in D.C. as you do overseas.
Your first ambassadorship was Paraguay in 2008. What surprised you most about the job?
The first lesson I learned was the public nature of the position. I discovered very quickly that anything you do has a public audience because you are the representative of the U.S. President 24/7. You can’t just take the family down the street to grab a pizza without previous planning. You lose your privacy and your spontaneity.
The second important lesson I learned was the power of the position—both the positives and the negatives. Being an ambassador gives you the ability to get things done. I had the power to arrange meetings and engagements and make statements that others could not, and I used that power to further our strategic goals in country. However, other people are aware of that power as well. Because of your title you have the leverage of doing things that would not be possible otherwise. As an ambassador, every movement, appearance, or failure to appear is parsed for meaning and so it is important to be aware of the power of the position.
As an Ambassador, how did you establish your expectations of work and conduct at a post?
You don’t want to come into your position assuming you are already an expert. You must commit to learning and listening first, which in my experience (and for me) could be a period of up to six months before I feel fully comfortable. On the other hand, it is important to immediately establish your expectations and principles of how you will be working with your team. For me it was important to transmit that I was approachable, and valued the opinion of the staff and that they should feel comfortable sharing their perspectives. For me, that meant no surprises, having an open-door policy, no micromanaging, and empowering my deputy. I like to provide guidance but leave flexibility to learn and to strengthen the teamwork.
Have you noticed a difference in work cultures between USAID and State?
State and USAID—each has its own culture, language, and traditions. USAID deals with development which is more medium and long term and State is more focused on the short term agenda. Once I moved to DOD, the cultural difference was even more marked. I dealt with it like arriving to a foreign country! Our military commands are trained to be ready—they plan and exercise to be ready at a moment’s notice. Sometimes, some things need to be in place and State provides that policy context, nuance and diplomatic advice.
What one tour would you recommend a FSO consider?
I learned so much from working in Washington. A Washington tour teaches you how the Administration, State, and Congress shape policy. It’s a fast paced, up tempo environment, and people need answers quickly and as an FSO it’s important to see how headquarters works. You build your network and learn whom to call to get things done. You learn the importance of CODELs and STAFFDELs and start seeing them as opportunities instead of nuisances.
Generalists generally do not have the opportunity to gain management experience before they are put into management positions. How do we train more effective managers?
Fortunately for me, I had the benefit of growing into my positions. With each assignment I was given increasing management responsibilities. Over time I grew into my Chief of Mission position. Paraguay was a small post and Brazil a big embassy with four consulates. I was lucky that I had time to build on these skills from my various USAID assignments to leading a huge Embassy team in Brazil.
I think it is important for the Department to have the ability to take officers away from post and send them for training. Everybody’s post is always reluctant to let an officer go off to training and the gaps at Post are difficult to cover. But training is important and we need to creatively think of ways to include that in the career path so that officers become effective managers and have the skills they need to succeed.
What can our State Department learn from the Brazilian foreign services?
Many Brazilian foreign service officers came from traditional foreign service families and so some could be rather elitist. There were women in the service but few at higher ranks. Very few Afro-Brazilians. I think that’s slowly changing.
For the Brazilians, it is a career with a lot of prestige and the requirements to become a foreign service officer are many so the service is not as diverse. They all speak at least four languages and come into the service very well prepared. The emphasis on language is important. I feel that you benefit so much if you have the language of the country in which you are working.
They are very much like us in a way. Their officers always come prepared to their meetings and are armed with issue papers and talking points. They are very attentive to protocol.
What is the Ambassador Ayalde production function? That is, what do you do better than anybody else?
I never bid to be an Ambassador. I was lucky to be invited to both ambassadorships. I think what the leadership saw in me was my passion for the job that I was doing, wherever I was. That is something that I have looked for in my teams as well. If I were to pull together my dream embassy, I know exactly the people I would choose—it is the people who are competent and have shown the most passion for their work. Senior leaders will notice and remember people who work with passion and will seek them out when building their “A Team.” Enjoy what you do, do it well, and you will stand out.
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