Leadership, for Jana Merunková, did not begin with a position or title but with a conviction shaped in the realities of post-communist Czechoslovakia, where she grew up observing how systems of education and opportunity influence the direction of people’s lives. From an early age, she carried a belief that the world could be improved by changing what and how children are taught, and by restoring confidence in those who grow up in socially disadvantaged environments. That belief gradually became the foundation of a career defined not only by entrepreneurship, but by a long-term commitment to shaping individuals, communities, and leadership culture itself.
Her journey began during university, when she started her first business with the clear intention of building something of her own. At the same time, she felt a strong responsibility toward society and did not want her work to exist only in the commercial sphere. Over the following three decades, she consciously developed a professional life that moved between business and nonprofit work in parallel, allowing her to combine strategic thinking with social purpose. She built network marketing structures, coached leaders, mentored entrepreneurs, and simultaneously initiated projects aimed at strengthening financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills, and independence among young people.
This dual approach has shaped the work she leads through the NGO yourchance, where she develops financial literacy programmes for schools, prepares young people leaving foster and institutional care for independent life, and supports newcomers integrating into Czech society with competence and dignity. Her commitment to practical impact became especially visible after the war in Ukraine began, when she helped launch a project that enabled five thousand displaced people to start new lives in the Czech Republic. Across these initiatives, her focus remains consistent: not merely to run programmes, but to help individuals grow into stronger, more capable versions of themselves.
Professionally, Jana describes herself as an entrepreneur, mentor, fundraiser, and visionary who specialises in building bridges between business and nonprofit organisations. She focuses particularly on strategic fundraising and on forming sustainable partnerships that allow social initiatives to function beyond short-term cycles. Alongside her professional work, she writes fairy tales and poetry, reflecting her belief that stories play an essential role in shaping imagination, confidence, and moral perspective. For her, leadership involves not only systems and structures but also meaning, narrative, and personal growth.
Her inspiration is closely linked to mentorship and the idea that every person carries a life mission waiting to be discovered. Having benefited from mentors who helped her recognise her own path, she sees her role as extending that same encouragement to others. She actively promotes reading, learning, and reflection as tools for personal development, and her long-term goal is to help make values-based leadership a norm rather than an exception in organisations and communities.
Jana’s leadership philosophy is grounded in servant leadership, which she understands as influence expressed through responsibility and service rather than authority. Inspired by the writings of John Maxwell and James Hunter, she integrates structured leadership development with a strong ethical foundation rooted in faith and accountability. She believes leadership is not defined by the number of followers one gathers, but by how many people grow as a result of that leadership. Her strength lies in combining long-term vision with high expectations, seeing possibilities where others may see obstacles, while also recognising that genuine growth happens more effectively in an atmosphere of trust than under pressure alone.
This perspective was shaped partly by personal experience. Earlier in her career, she worked beyond sustainable limits and experienced a collapse that forced her to reconsider how success should be built. That turning point taught her to treat health and energy as strategic resources, and today she consciously protects time for faith, relationships, and rest, recognising that intense work periods must remain temporary and balanced by recovery.
Outside her professional responsibilities, she finds renewal in movement, creativity, and quiet reflection. Dance restores a sense of joy and freedom after demanding days, rollerblading reconnects her with physical energy, and walks in the forest offer silence and perspective. Writing fairy tales and poetry provides another space for reflection, reinforcing her belief that leaders need moments where they do not have to achieve or prove anything, but can simply be.
Her work has been recognised through several honours, including winning the Women Changing the World Awards CZ & SK 2025 in the Education of Youth category, becoming a finalist in the global Women Changing the World Awards in the Nonprofit Sector, and being named a Creative Hero finalist in 2024. Her contributions to financial literacy and youth empowerment have also been acknowledged by national institutions, including the Governor of the Czech National Bank, as well as by educational and business leaders who view her initiatives as advancing systemic change. For Jana, however, awards are not a destination but a confirmation that long-term, values-driven work can produce sustainable impact.
Her message to readers reflects the philosophy that has guided her own journey: freedom begins as an inner decision to live according to one’s highest values and to take responsibility for them. Ideal conditions rarely arrive, and meaningful change begins the moment a person chooses to act, step by step, guided by purpose rather than circumstance. Through her work, Jana Merunková continues to demonstrate that leadership rooted in service, vision, and responsibility can quietly reshape both individual lives and the wider world.
