LAMATU IN THE MEDIA

This page brings together a selection of media features — interviews, articles, podcasts, books, and other public appearances where I share my perspective on professional development, personal leadership, and navigating expat life and career across Europe. Each conversation is an opportunity for LaMatu to contribute to a wider dialogue about meaningful work, authentic confidence, growth mindset, intercultural awareness and creating a life aligned with one’s values. By collecting them in one place, I hope to provide a useful complimentary resource for my coaching clients, partners, and anyone curious about the work I do. This press archive also serves as an introduction for journalists, podcasters, event hosts, and organisations interested in collaborating with LaMatu. I invite you to explore the resources listed below and get a sense of the ideas that inspire my work at LaMatu.

Directness, Autonomy and Consensus

A Practical Guide to Dutch Working Culture

In this article for IamExpat, Monika Matuszewska explores the unwritten rules that can make Dutch workplaces difficult to navigate—even for highly experienced international professionals. She examines how direct communication, relatively flat hierarchies, professional autonomy and consensus-led decision-making can influence everyday interactions, meetings and career progression. Drawing on her international corporate background and coaching experience with professionals from almost 90 nationalities, Monika offers practical guidance on speaking up, clarifying expectations, building credibility and adapting across cultures without losing your authentic voice. The article also introduces LaMatu’s free webinar, “Navigating Dutch Working Culture with Confidence,” designed to help international professionals communicate, collaborate in the workplace and grow more confidently in their careers in the Netherlands.

Executive Presence in a Global Career

Beyond Technical Expertise

In the article written for ACCESS MBA & EMBA Guide, Monika explores why career progression at executive level is shaped not only by credentials, technical expertise and performance, but also by clarity, visibility, credibility, communication and intercultural leadership skills. She reframes executive presence as a practical leadership capability — visible in boardroom presentations, stakeholder meetings, high-stakes conversations, negotiations, conflict situations and moments of pressure. Drawing on her international corporate background, coaching expertise and intercultural experience, Monika offers practical reflections for high-potential leaders who want to strengthen their leadership identity, communicate with greater authority and build influence across cultures, functions and levels of seniority. The article brings together themes that are increasingly relevant for ambitious professionals building international careers: executive presence, leadership identity, communication under pressure, visibility in senior environments and the ability to lead across cultures. It offers a thoughtful perspective for Executive MBA candidates and globally minded professionals preparing for broader responsibility.

The Human Coaching Advantage in the Age of AI

Balancing Empathy, Candid Feedback and Accountability

Human career coaching provides empathy, objective challenge and personal accountability, helping professionals uncover blind spots and translate insight into meaningful action. In her latest Humans of Fuzia interview, Amsterdam-based career and leadership coach Monika Matuszewska explains why human coaching remains essential in the age of AI. While AI can organise information and generate suggestions, a professional coach offers true empathy and has the ability to challenge assumptions, and ensure accountability. Monika supports accomplished international professionals navigating career transitions, leadership questions and mid-career crossroads. Her approach combines warm, non-judgemental support with the directness to question assumptions, identify inconsistencies and encourage meaningful action. This personalised, human connection creates the psychological safety needed to explore difficult questions, uncover blind spots and develop new perspectives. Through introspection, values clarification and strategic career guidance, she helps clients move beyond purely logical thinking and make confident, purpose-driven decisions.

Designing Your Career

CEMS Rotterdam Club

Monika was invited as a guest on a student-led podcast recorded at the Erasmus University podcast studio in Rotterdam. The interview was hosted by students from the CEMS Rotterdam Club and explored Monika’s academic path, international career journey and transition from corporate leadership roles into professional coaching at LaMatu. In the conversation, she reflected on the choices, turning points and lessons that shaped her development across countries, disciplines and sectors. She shared insights from her studies, international corporate experience and work as a certified coach, offering the audience practical reflections on career design, resilience, self-leadership and building a professional path aligned with one’s values. As a CEMS alumna, Monika especially appreciated the opportunity to give back to the CEMS community and inspire the next cohorts of students as they prepare to shape their own international careers. The episode created space for an honest conversation about non-linear careers, professional identity and the courage to make meaningful career choices.

Coaching or Mentoring

Discover the Differences

In this article written for Dutch coaching platform Coachclick, Monika Matuszewska explores the differences and complementary roles of coaching and mentoring in professional and personal development. Referring to the origins of mentorship in Greek mythology, she reflects on the timeless role of mentors as guides, supporters and trusted sources of wisdom. The article explains how mentoring draws on lived experience and practical insight, while coaching focuses on helping individuals develop self-awareness, independent thinking and their own solutions. It also highlights the importance of reflective conversations, growth mindset, respectful collaboration and structured development processes such as the GROW model. The piece offers a thoughtful perspective on how meaningful guidance, whether through coaching or mentoring, can support confidence, clarity and long-term development in both careers and life.

Designing a Meaningful Life Abroad

How to Intentionally Design a Life Aligned with Purpose

In this episode, recorded at Equals Clubhouse in Amsterdam, professional coach and founder of LaMatu, Monika Matuszewska, shares her personal and professional journey of relocation and reinvention with Adis Sophie Fremont from Designing Your Life. Life and career transitions can feel both exciting and unsettling—especially when building a new chapter in a new country. In this episode of her podcast Life Lab, Adis Sophie sits down with Monika for a grounded, practical conversation on navigating change with more clarity, confidence, and intention, and designing a life aligned with purpose. From Poland to Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, and from a corporate marketing career to launching an international coaching practice, Monika explores the cultural and strategic aspects of moving abroad and navigating career transitions. Together they discuss expat transitions in the Netherlands, job crafting, mindset shifts, and small next steps you can take—whether you’re feeling stuck, considering a pivot, or seeking better alignment. This podcast is perfect for international professionals, expats, and curious career-changers. You will learn how coaching supports transitions, what “designing your life” can look like, and how to prototype your next chapter.

The Intersection of Purpose and Presence

From the Diary of Monika Matuszewska

In this in-depth interview with Monika Matuszewska, founder of LaMatu, Monika reflects on her transition from senior international leadership roles to building a coaching practice centred on purpose, presence, and human transformation. Drawing on her multicultural background, four Master’s degrees, and experience working across more than 80 nationalities, Monika is portrayed as a coach who bridges strategic ambition with human depth—helping high performers redefine leadership through clarity, authenticity, and conscious decision-making. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in global corporate environments, she shares how working across cultures, languages, and organisational systems shaped her holistic coaching philosophy. The conversation explores the tension between performance and presence, the role of mentorship and trust in career growth, and why coaching and mentoring are becoming essential pillars of sustainable leadership in times of complexity and change. Having navigated corporate heights herself, she brings both credibility and nuance to the challenges her clients face at the top.

The Sound of Success

How to Create a Purposeful Life and Career You Love

Monika Matuszewska, founder of LaMatu Professional Coaching Services, was featured as an expert contributor in the book The Sound of Success by Eveline Couvée. The book contains a structured 10-step roadmap designed to guide you towards overcoming uncertainty, shifting your fears, and creating a purposeful life and career you love. In her interview with Eveline, Monika shares her perspective on values-based decision-making, purposeful career choices, and the role of inner alignment in navigating uncertainty — themes that are central to her coaching work with international professionals, leaders, and career changers. Her contribution explores how personal values can serve as a reliable compass when making difficult life and career decisions, drawing on her own educational and professional journey across multiple countries and disciplines. Monika’s message to the readers is reflected in her quote: “Live a life aligned with your own values, not someone else’s. That inner alignment can become your life compass.”

Journeys of Empowerment

Stillness as a Turning Point

Monika Matuszewska was a guest on the “Journeys of Empowerment” podcast series. The latest episode titled “Stillness as a Turning Point” is a reflective conversation, where she shares how growing up in Poland surrounded by books shaped her curiosity, how 16 years in international corporate environments gradually led her towards coaching, and how a meditation retreat became a decisive moment of contrast between constant performance and conscious presence. She speaks about belonging across countries and communities, learning as a life stance, and the shift from doing to being — recognising that what once looked like detours often reveals itself as alignment in hindsight. Her empowering insight resonates throughout the episode: “I belong in so many places!” You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast and YouTube.

Build a Future-Proof Career in the Netherlands

Expect the Unexpected And Make a Plan

Monika Matuszewska, Certified Professional Coach and founder of LaMatu, is featured in IamExpat offering expert guidance for international professionals aiming to design meaningful, future-proof careers in the Netherlands. The article highlights practical strategies for navigating career uncertainty, including leveraging outplacement support and employer-provided Learning & Development budgets to strengthen confidence, strategic clarity, and professional growth. It emphasises the importance of understanding Dutch hiring practices, cultural norms, and effective positioning of international experience to succeed in the local job market. Drawing on more than 20 years of international experience, Monika shares insights on how career coaching can support expats through transitions, build resilience, and create a career aligned with personal values and long-term goals.

Understanding NLP: Beyond the Stereotypes

Debunking Common Myths about Neuro-Linguistic Programming

In this long-form conversation, Monika Matuszewska was invited to Rotterdam to speak about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) — a topic that often stirs both curiosity and controversy in the world of personal development. During the interview, she explains what NLP really is, where the common myths around it come from. The podcast explores core NLP principles such as “the map is not the territory,” how language shapes the way we experience the world, and the role of mindset and limiting beliefs in our daily decisions. Monika also shares how NLP supports authentic communication at work, how it relates to imposter syndrome, and which simple techniques listeners can apply immediately. The conversation closes with an important question: how to recognise a credible, well-trained NLP coach. This episode offers a transparent, nuanced look at NLP and its practical value in coaching, leadership, and everyday communication.

Your Venture: Values in Action with Monika Matuszewska

From Curiosity to Personal Leadership

Monika Matuszewska, founder of LaMatu and certified coach and leadership mentor, was featured in Female Ventures discussing how values and cultural identity shape career transitions and professional fulfilment. The article explores Monika’s journey from multinational corporate leadership to founding LaMatu, driven by a desire to align her work with her values and purpose. It highlights her insights on recognising value misalignment as a core factor in career dissatisfaction, the importance of cultural awareness in international workplaces, and practical strategies for women navigating transitions with confidence and clarity. The piece also shares Monika’s grounded advice on clarifying values, networking intentionally, and embracing reinvention as a mindset — illustrating her commitment to supporting women in meaningful, sustainable career design.

Alchemic Rhythm

Real Stories of Human Relationship with Money

Monika’s story was featured in Alchemic Rhythm™– Thirteen Real Lives, One Relationship with Money. The book brings together vivid interviews from individuals of different cultural backgrounds, income levels, and life stages. Through these stories, the author Stella Vaz examines how upbringing, culture, gender, migration, and early life experiences shape money beliefs, decision-making, and a sense of financial wellbeing. In her contribution, Monika reflects on money through the lens of personal development and values, connecting financial choices with cultural codes. Her interview sits within a broader exploration of themes such as women and money, financial independence, and the emotional dimensions of earning, saving, and spending. Alchemic Rhythm™ offers reflective analysis, distilled insights, and questions that invite readers to better understand their own financial blueprint — positioning money not just as a tool, but as a mirror of deeper personal and systemic dynamics. Alchemic Rhythm™ is available on Amazon in Dutch, English and Portuguese, both on Kindle and as a hardcover print edition.

Relocation Stories

Navigating Transitions with Monika Matuszewska

In this video podcast episode, professional coach Monika Matuszewska, founder of LaMatu, an award-winning practice in Amsterdam. Having lived in 4 countries, and travelled to over 60 across 4 continents, she brings deep intercultural insight and empathy to this conversation. Monika shares her personal and professional journey of relocation, reinvention, and designing a life aligned with purpose. From Poland to Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, from a corporate marketing career to launching a successful international coaching practice, Monika opens up about the emotional, cultural, and strategic aspects of moving abroad. She also shares practical tools and coaching insights for anyone navigating transitions—whether geographic or professional.

Building Your International Career in the Netherlands

A Conversation about Cultural Identity

In this wide-ranging interview for “Questions on Fire”, I share my journey from working in international corporations to becoming a coach and personal development expert. Drawing on four Master’s degrees, five languages, and 18 years of living in the Netherlands, I discuss what it really means to build a career and a life across cultures. We explore the dynamics of Dutch meetings, the surprising differences in work culture between Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands, and how to transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship without falling into common traps. The conversation also touches on deeper themes: how to build a values compass, why many of us feel lonely despite thousands of online connections, and how social media shapes our mental wellbeing. We look at whether AI tools can replace a coach or psychologist, how the “50 coffees method” supports difficult life decisions, and what immigrant loneliness teaches us about authentic relationships. This episode offers an honest, practical, and human perspective on career transitions, cultural identity, and the search for clarity when you find yourself in the “I don’t know what I want” moment of life.

What if the Best Career Move Wasn’t Planned?

A Talk on Professional Presence and Courage to Make Bold Decisions

In this interview recorded at Equals Clubhouse in Amsterdam, Monika Matuszewska reflects on her 16-year international career across five organisations and four countries, exploring how professional growth rarely follows a linear path. In conversation with a personal stylist Lu Cai, she discusses the role of executive presence in career development — including how personal presentation, clothing choices, and non-verbal presence influence credibility, confidence, and opportunity in professional settings. She talks about how unexpected choices shaped her professional success, why a career path doesn’t need to be linear, how personal presence can amplify opportunities, and the lessons she wish she had known 20 years ago. Monika shares insights on making intentional career decisions without having the full plan, the impact of showing up authentically and consistently, and key lessons she wishes she had known earlier. The interview offers practical reflections for professionals who want to strengthen their presence, align image with identity, and take the next meaningful step in their career with clarity and confidence. Watch and discover why your next bold step matters far more than having a perfect plan.

Career Coach Interview: What Is Really Driving Your MBA?

How Coaching Can Pave the Way to Academic, Business and Career Growth

Feeling successful yet uncertain about what comes next is a common challenge among international professionals considering an MBA. In this AccessMBA interview, career coach Monika Matuszewska shares how coaching helps MBA candidates uncover their true motivations, challenge default decisions, and align further education with long-term career and life goals. She highlights the importance of self-awareness, values clarity, and cultural context when making high-stakes educational choices. The interview encourages candidates to move beyond external expectations and make decisions that support sustainable success and personal fulfilment. It also offers practical reflection points for professionals navigating career transitions in an increasingly complex global job market.

Role Model Campaign 2025

Award for LaMatu in a National Campaign by Equals

In this interview, Monika Matuszewska highlights why success is not a universal formula but a deeply personal alignment between one’s values, strengths, and aspirations. She emphasises that clarity on core values enables stronger decision-making, greater resilience, and a more meaningful sense of achievement. Self-awareness—particularly understanding and leveraging personal strengths—allows individuals to operate with authenticity and confidence. Monika explains how coaching supports this process by helping people uncover their intrinsic drivers, overcome limiting beliefs, and design careers that reflect who they truly are. Rather than a fixed end point, she frames success as an evolving journey rooted in alignment and self-knowledge.

Want to Become the Best Version of Yourself?

Monika is Here for You to Support You

LaMatu Coaching, founded by Amsterdam-based coach Monika Matuszewska, is known for its personalised and holistic approach to personal development. With a mission centred on helping people access their inner strength and design a future aligned with who they truly are, Monika is trusted, human-centred practice for anyone seeking clarity, growth and purposeful transformation. In this interview, conducted by Mentorica, Monika was invited to share her perspective on personal development.

The Woman Guiding Transformation through Holistic Coaching

The Journey that Shaped LaMatu

The interview highlights the turning points that shaped her mission and the values that inspired her to leave the corporate world to support others through coaching, training, and workshops. Monika shares her philosophy of compassionate, whole-person coaching, addressing themes that go far beyond traditional career guidance: life purpose, wellbeing, limiting beliefs, and navigating high-pressure international environments.

Stay on Track in a World Full of Distractions

Master Your Focus

Delivered at at Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam during the Digital MarCom conference, the keynote speech “Master Your Focus: How to Stay on Track in a World Full of Distractions” was delivered by a professional coach Monika Matuszewska from LaMatu. Monika challenges audiences to reconsider attention not as a soft skill, but as a critical leadership asset. She connects neuroscience, behavioural patterns, and real-life professional contexts to show how individuals and organisations can reclaim focus, direct energy more intentionally, and operate with greater clarity and effectiveness. She helps the participants practice asking good questions that can help them make healthy choices, both in business and in your daily life. This talk touches upon current trends such as dopamine fasting, digital minimalism, social media detoxing and examine their possible impact on our mental health.

Attention Economy

How Excess Information Leads to Stress Formation

This keynote, delivered at the Touch summit in Georgia touched upon current trends such as social media detox and dopamine fasting and examine the possible impact on our mental health. The keynote speaker, Monika Matuszewska helped the audience explore the human needs, discover how information leads to stress formation and expose the mechanism of addiction in the context of modern technology and media. The keynote allows the audience to take a step back to re-evaluate which of the messages that we focus on are merely distractions. Spoiler alert: you may discover that it’s time to take charge of where you focus your attention and decide it’s time to declutter your digital life.

Where Your Attention Goes, Your Energy Flows

Reclaiming Focus in a Distracted World

In this keynote, Monika Matuszewska explores the strategic importance of attention in an age of constant distraction, cognitive overload, and competing demands. Drawing on her extensive experience in international corporate environments and her work as a certified coach, she examines how fragmented focus directly impacts decision-making quality, leadership presence, wellbeing, and long-term performance. The keynote offers practical insights and reflective prompts that enable leaders and professionals to identify attention drains, reset priorities, and create sustainable habits that support both performance and personal alignment. This keynote is particularly relevant for leaders, senior professionals, and organisations navigating complexity, change, and high expectations — offering a grounded, human-centred perspective on how conscious attention becomes a decisive factor in impact, resilience, and meaningful success.

Public Speaking and Keynotes

Public Influence and Individual Impact

Monika Matuszewska, the founder of LaMatu, is an experienced trainer, presenter and public speaker. She brings in rich experience as an in-person workshop facilitator and keynote speaker. As a seasoned professional with rich experience in designing and delivering impactful training programmes for diverse audiences, she has led thousands of participants through her transformative workshop sessions and captivated audiences on large conference stages in the Netherlands and across Europe.

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