Cassandra –
Team Lead

Cassandra took on the challenge to grow a new market and became a team leader within a year of joining LeadDesk.

Do you know the feeling of wanting to grow and develop in your career but not being able to do that in your current workplace? This is exactly how Cassandra D’Amico felt; the year was 2021, and she was looking for the next phase in her career.

Fast forward 1.5 years, and Cassandra is now thriving as an Account Manager Team Lead at LeadDesk. During the past year and a half, she has contributed to entering a whole new market in France and became a Team Leader along the way.

What choices did Cassandra make to get to her current position? How does it feel to lead a team? Why is LeadDesk the best place for her to grow as a professional?

Looking for a place to grow professionally and develop her career

Cassandra moved from France to the Netherlands in 2017 to build an international career. In the following years, she forged a career in account management, working in big international companies in Europe.

But in 2020 Cassandra decided it was time for the next phase in her life.

“Growing a career in a big international company unfortunately meant that the possibilities to truly influence my career were not that much in my own hands”, she says.

This was a turning point for Cassandra. She decided to take move in a different direction and find a smaller company that would understand her desire to use her initiative and be able to have more influence on the direction of her career.

Before finding LeadDesk, Cassandra took her backpack and travelled across South America for seven months.

“That experience taught me even more about how to adapt to different cultures and strengthened my feeling of wanting to work in a truly international environment”, she says.

After returning from her trip, Cassandra decided that her next workplace had to offer her the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world, and more freedom to develop her career.

“LeadDesk gave me freedom to grow, to learn, and to develop myself and the company together with the team. And everything in a truly international environment.”

“LeadDesk gave me all that: freedom to grow, to learn, and to develop myself and the company together with the team. And everything in a truly international environment”, Cassandra says.

Cassandra’s desire to join a medium-sized company, “a human company”, was fulfilled when she joined us.

“I want to know the people I work with. At LeadDesk this is possible, even when we are working around Europe and in a hybrid mode”, Cassandra says.

Growing a new market in France was both a challenge and a learning opportunity

Cassandra started as an Account Manager with us in February 2021.

But the start of her career at LeadDesk was not a bed of roses.

In short, Cassandra’s job was to find clients and grow the company’s portfolio. At the time LeadDesk had just entered a new market in France, which was starting to grow. This meant Cassandra was very active in the whole account management process, advising the marketing team and working as technical support.

Her small team was located in the Netherlands, even though they were involved in launching a new market in France. “It was an extraordinary situation to not be located in the market area – and we still aren’t”, Cassandra explains.

According to Cassandra, it was an exciting but also challenging time. But she was never left alone with her challenges. Cassandra emphasises that helping each other and sharing our knowledge is at the core of our culture at LeadDesk.

“I always had support from LeadDesk, especially from our country manager who shared their experiences, and taught me how to organise and prioritise my tasks”, she says.

It was a huge learning experience for Cassandra. She didn’t have any previous experience or knowledge about the technology or call center industry. And she had to learn fast.

“Our team was very small, which meant I had to go beyond my original job role to succeed.”

“Our team was very small, which meant I had to go beyond my original job role to succeed. In a short time, I had to learn about the call center industry, our product, its development and the technology behind it, the user experience, and also become a project manager”, she explains.

Within a year, Cassandra managed to grow the market in France as expected. In addition, she grew as a professional and started to take a natural role as a team leader.

Cassandra became a team leader who inspires and encourages

Today, as an Account Manager Team Lead, Cassandra continues to work in account management and also manages her own team of three people. Taking the role of team leader felt natural to Cassandra.

“Sharing my knowledge and coaching younger talents motivates me. I want to see people around me thrive and succeed”

“Sharing my knowledge and coaching younger talents motivates me. I want to see people around me thrive and succeed”, she says.

According to Cassandra, being a team leader feels like being a teacher: you don’t want to change your team members but to get the best out of them, to help them shine and thrive through learning new things.

“I want to be a book to read for my team.”

“I want to be a book to read for my team. Showing them by example and offering them the support they need is my priority”, she says.

Cassandra’s team is working in a hybrid mode, since one of them is working from France and the others, including Cassandra, are in the Netherlands.

“Being hybrid and working in hybrid mode is at the core of our culture at LeadDesk. It enables many opportunities. As a team leader of a hybrid team, I am constantly thinking about how we can feel united as a team even when we are not physically together”, Cassandra explains.

What has Cassandra learned from her experience?

Cassandra’s years at LeadDesk have been intense but rewarding. What has been her greatest lesson from all of this?

“I have learned how to manage a business from all different aspects and take full responsibility for everything. Here you can be like a business owner within a company”, Cassandra says.

“I have learned how to manage a business from all different aspects and take full responsibility for everything. Here you can be like a business owner within a company.”

On a personal level, she has learned how to take a step back in challenging situations and analyse the situation from a distance.

“It is important to not react too quickly to changing circumstances. My technique is to pause for a while, think, analyse the situation, and then make a decision on how to continue”, she explains.

Looking back now, what advice would Cassandra give to her younger self?

“Allow yourself to make mistakes. You will learn everything in time. Be patient with yourself and just go with what feels right in the moment”, she concludes thoughtfully.