Celebrating International Women’s Day: A Celebration of Women & Leadership with Kasey Robinson
As we celebrate International Women’s Day and recognize the women shaping the future of telecom, we’re proud to spotlight one of our own: Kasey Robinson, VP-Carrier Sales at INDATEL Services.
Kasey’s journey into telecom didn’t begin with a master plan. In fact, as she puts it, this was “supposed to be my college job.”
Three years into her time at INDATEL, and many more years into a career she once thought would be temporary, Kasey’s story is one of growth, resilience, humility and leadership rooted in service.
A “College Job” That Turned into a Calling
In her late-20s, Kasey made the decision to return to school to earn her degree. Like many working adults, she was juggling responsibilities while trying to build a better future. A friend recommended her for a role at a statewide network in Nebraska, and she took the job with a simple plan: work there while finishing her degree, then figure out what was next.
But she didn’t leave after obtaining her degree.
What started as a stepping stone became a career. Over time, Kasey built deep experience in telecommunications, taking on increasing responsibility and discovering a passion for leadership along the way.
Her degree? Organizational leadership.
But that passion to lead started long before the classroom.
“I’ve always loved leadership,” Robinson shared, recalling everything from Girl Scouts to early professional opportunities. But for Kasey, leadership has never been about titles.
“I think everybody, it doesn’t matter what your position is, has an opportunity to lead from any position within any organization,” Robinson said.
That belief has shaped her entire career: from her first formal leadership role supervising a pricing department to her time as an individual contributor in sales, and now as Vice President of Carrier Sales at INDATEL.
Leading in a Male-Dominated Industry
Telecom has long been a male-dominated industry. While progress has been made, women in telecom leadership still navigate unique challenges.
Kasey described her experience as a “double-edged sword.”
On one hand, she has been surrounded by champions, men and women alike who supported her growth and recognized her drive. On the other hand, she has experienced moments where her age or gender caused others to overlook her.
In early sales roles, she recalled customers directing questions to the men she was training beside her instead of to her. Even today, there are moments when people assume someone else in the room holds her position.
Her response? Not bitterness. Not a chip on her shoulder. The opposite: “I think it’s really easy to have (a chip on your shoulder), but all it does is diminish you,” Robinson explained.
Instead, Kasey chose to lean into the champions around her – learning from them, growing through their mentorship and now paying that investment forward. It’s a powerful reminder that while we can’t always control the assumptions of others, we can control how we show up.
And at INDATEL, how we show up matters.
A Servant Leader at Heart
If you ask Kasey to define her leadership style, she won’t give you a buzzword.
Instead, she’ll tell you her goal: to be a servant leader.
That means putting the people she leads first. It means creating opportunities for her team to grow, even beyond what she may have had access to earlier in her career. And it means acknowledging that leadership, like parenting (another role she takes seriously), is a journey of constant learning.
“Sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I get it horribly wrong,” Robinson said candidly. “But at the end of the day, my goal is to walk away and say that given the information I had at the moment, I did the best that I could.”
That authenticity resonates with her team.
Building a Team That Puts the Name on the Front First
One of the accomplishments Kasey is most proud of isn’t a single sale or milestone, it’s the culture her team has built together.
When she stepped into her leadership role, initially in an interim capacity, the organization experienced rapid change. And as she noted, even good changes can be hard. Rapid change can erode trust and disrupt productivity across departments.
Over the past three years, she and her team have been intentional about rebuilding that trust, both internally and across the organization.
Today, she describes a sales organization that will cover for each other, support one another’s accounts and prioritize team success over individual wins. In her words, it’s a team that cares more about “the name on the front of the jersey than the name on the back.”
In a competitive sales environment, that’s no small feat.
Kasey is quick to deflect credit to her team, but her leadership has clearly helped create the conditions for that collaboration to thrive.
Mentorship, Growth and Owning Your Trajectory
When asked about mentors who have influenced her career, Kasey points to several leaders along the way, including INDATEL’s own Justin Forte, who she credits with investing deeply in the leadership team’s development.
That investment in growth has reinforced something Kasey believes strongly: no one succeeds alone.
Her advice to the next generation of women in telecom? Be hungry. Be humble.
It’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay not to have your entire career mapped out. Ask questions. Seek knowledge. Take ownership of your growth.
And perhaps most importantly, don’t let slights define you.
“It’s not okay to be dismissed,” Robinson said, “but I don’t ever want to be a compilation of the negativity around me. I want to be the best version of myself.”
For women aspiring to leadership roles, she adds another layer of wisdom: don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s easy to feel like you have to prove yourself at every turn. But that constant pressure can be exhausting, and it can cause you to miss out on relationships, connections and even joy.
“Enjoy the ride,” she encourages. And yes, remember to use your PTO.
Showing Up Authentically
In a world that often encourages women to fit a certain mold in leadership, Kasey advocates for authenticity.
“If you’re not being your authentic self,” she elaborated, “it won’t last long, and it’s exhausting to try.”
That authenticity extends beyond the office. After realizing that her passion for her role had led her to lose sight of balance, Kasey made intentional changes. She refocused on her health, rediscovered her love of working out, recently took up Pilates and continues to nurture her lifelong love of reading and playing the piano.
Leadership, after all, isn’t just about performance metrics. It’s about sustainability.
Celebrating Women in Telecom
International Women’s Day gives us a chance to pause and recognize the women who are shaping our industry; not just through titles, but through influence, mentorship and culture.
Kasey Robinson’s journey is a reminder that leadership is not about perfection. It’s about progress. It’s about owning your growth, supporting others along the way, and showing up with integrity, even when it’s hard.
At INDATEL, we’re proud to celebrate women like Kasey who are building stronger teams, modeling servant leadership and helping move telecom forward.
Here’s to the women leading from every seat at the table, and to the next generation who will carry it even further!
