Leanna Nazzisi: From Part-Time to Power Player
How Leanna went from a part-time seasonal contractor to leading a global CX team at a top beauty brand-- and the leadership skills you can use to replicate her success
A quick heads up that we have space in a few upcoming Fort Light cohorts for high-potential managers and team leads at startups (Series A through growth stage). We cover the interpersonal skills required to build high-performing teams, as well as the inner work needed to win and thrive on the rollercoaster of startup life. Learn more here, and reach out if you’d like to explore— either for yourself, or for a rising star leader on your team whom you’d like to invest in: info@fortlight.com.
Leanna Nazzisi is the Senior Director of Customer Experience at Victoria Beckham Beauty, a clean, cruelty-free, digital-first makeup and skincare brand founded by the one and only Victoria Beckham (!).
Leanna launched her startup career as a seasonal contractor with Birchbox, where she rose through the ranks to become a senior CX leader as the company scaled. She also had a chapter as a customer success leader during Zendesk’s growth stage.
Leanna is known as an exceptionally strong leader and CX wizard. She was nominated by her team, several of whom followed her from Birchbox to VBB. Her team knows her as:
Proactively eliciting ideas and really listening
Matching the business needs with the strengths and needs of the individuals on the team
Building a sense of trust and authenticity
Creating a culture of transparency, honesty, and clarity
Balancing high-level strategy with detailed execution
You’ll learn:
How Leanna went from a part-time seasonal contractor to the leader of a global CX org for a top beauty brand
Strategies for managing former peers and friends
How to create a consistent team-wide mindset
The importance of proactive, exceptional customer experience
🎧 Listen now wherever you get podcasts: Apple | Spotify
Some takeaways:
Pursue roles where you love the product - Leanna has moved up in her career by working for companies where she loved the product. This is such a cheatcode for job seekers!
If you’re moving up, others can too - Leanna rose through the ranks, and has managed folks who are more experienced than her or were previously peers. She viewed her own rise as a signal that there are also opportunities for others, and took on the responsibility of connecting her team with those opportunities.
Don’t skip the foundation - If you’re leading a function, then you need to be familiar with the day-to-day mechanics of that group. For example, CX leaders need to be trained as an agent first. If you don’t understand the basics, you’ll never know what needs to be improved.
Customer experience is a mindset - CX is not about giving things away for free – it’s about a memorable, valuable experience. If you’re building a team, think about the attitude and mindset that you want to instill, and then hire and coach towards that.
Trust your team to co-create the plan – If you hire the right people and trust their experience, you can share big ideas and get their insights to punch up the plans. Your team will be more motivated and engaged when they understand the plan, and are bought in from the beginning.
Support teams have the real scoop - If someone knows the juicy details about what’s going on with customers, it’s the support team. No matter what function you lead, get curious and ask the support team about what they are seeing, thinking, and feeling.
Aim for the right level of discomfort - Changes inevitably bring discomfort. As the leader, it’s your job to understand the root of the discomfort. This helps you understand what (if anything) you want to do about it.
Tackle the awkwardness head-on - Be transparent and address the elephant in the room. Acknowledge any weirdness, and talk about what can be done to make things less awkward. This is particularly important if you start managing someone who is a friend or was a peer.
Managers are responsible for your team's growth - It's your job to share information about what is available at the company and to make team members feel valued. If someone is putting in notice without your knowledge, it’s a huge miss.
Go all-in on the most important problems - If you tackle one major problem at a time, then it helps the team prioritize. It can reduce stress and help the team focus. And then it’s your job as the leader to communicate those priorities to the rest of the org.
Pick an area to shine - Leanna was able to stand out as an IC by focusing on the data. Find your top priority, and make it something that is interesting and enjoyable to you. Then become excellent at that, and make sure to share your knowledge across the org so you can become known for it.
Education, Convenience, Connection - These are Leanna’s pillars for the CX team. She applies these principles to her customers, as well as to her team internally.
🔍 Where to find Leanna
🙏🏻 Gratitude
Thanks to Kristi Bulot for nominating Leanna
Thanks also to Leanna’s team for sharing stories and feedback about working for her: Emma Saitch-Smith and Milka Guariglia
📚 Referenced
Victoria Beckham Beauty: https://victoriabeckhambeauty.com/
Birchbox: https://www.birchbox.com/
Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com/
Katia Beauchamp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiaververis/
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