Built from Scratch, Powered by Heart: Meet Isabella Salazar

Meet Isabella Salazar, Senior Associate at CST Insights Bogotá. Her journey exemplifies ownership, resilience, and collaboration—from building a team from the ground up to navigating moments of uncertainty with clarity and purpose. Isabella’s story highlights the kind of leadership that drives meaningful growth and inspires those around her.

What achievement are you most proud of in your journey to becoming a Senior Associate?

One of the achievements I am most proud of has been building a team from scratch (as one of the first two associates on the CST Insights team in Bogotá), while creating a culture of partnership and our own brand. Being able to look back at where we were a year ago and see how we continue to grow today is a gratifying and indescribable feeling for me.

Can you share a time when you went above and beyond to deliver results for a client or team?

As this is a team that is still being built on trial and error, there have been periods of time when there was no direct manager for us, someone to directly lead the team, so I had to step up on several occasions and help lead a team that was learning as it went along. Even with the arrival of an excellent manager like the one we have today (Juliana Arteaga), there have been times when I have collaborated on the creation of projects and proposals with our direct consulting client to always deliver the best results.

What does ‘excellence’ mean to you in your day-to-day work?

From my point of view, excellence in my day-to-day work can be described as effective business delivery and performance, while maintaining unity among associates and, above all, quality for our clients. Doing what we do best with what we have at our disposal.

‍What was one skill or mindset shift that helped you grow the most in the last 12 months?

Time management and organization, along with improving emotional intelligence, have helped me understand the needs of our clients and, above all, of the team. This has helped us enormously throughout this year to solve problems better and, as a result, to collaborate more effectively.‍

Can you recall a moment when you failed or struggled? How did you overcome it and what did you learn?

Given the nature of this industry and how fast-paced it is, of course I've had several moments where I've struggled. However, I do remember one project in particular where the client was quite versatile and constantly changed delivery dates, quotas, profiles, and requirements, which made it difficult for us to deliver at first. 

Finally, we managed to deliver more than 200 surveys, of which only half were obtained by two associates from the CST Insights Bogota team (the client's achievement with the help of Dialectica was even featured in a famous newsletter in the United States). It was a months-long project that challenged us and presented a huge obstacle, but we took ownership of it, made plans, and set goals, which taught me resilience and, above all, adaptability.

Who or what played a key role in your development? Any mentors, teammates, or moments that stood out?

I have had several mentors who have helped me along the way since day one (the CST team in Greece), who traveled from Athens to train us as we were practically a new account. I have many fond moments of laughter, failures, mistakes, and of course, learning experiences.

I would also like to highlight my unconditional colleague from day one, with whom we started the team in Bogota: Alejandro Garcia, and of course associates who have become vital to my personal development: Antonio Flores and Victoria Tello. With their help, we have grown day by day to become what we are today. 

Last but not least, my manager Juliana Arteaga, who took on the challenge several months ago of being the first leader of CST Insights Bogota, managed an entire team and led it to the achievements we have today, with nothing more than a strong desire to move forward and see us succeed. I highlight her constant support and advice, without which I would not be the Senior Associate I am today.

‍How do you contribute to creating a strong, collaborative team culture?

I contribute to a culture of collaboration and teamwork by laying strong foundations that encourage open and healthy communication, where the achievements of others are recognized, and knowledge is generated with confidence and, above all, cohesion.

What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve received—and how did it shape your approach?

One of the best pieces of advice and feedback I have received has been to learn to listen and manage how I express my thoughts and opinions. Managing how I communicate with others, along with learning to stay calm, has helped me in moments of difficulty to overcome any obstacles that have arisen, strengthening the relationships I have with all the people I work with and see every day.

Isabella’s journey reminds us that growth isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about showing up, stepping forward, and shaping the path as we go. Her words capture the spirit of what it means to be a Senior Associate at Dialectica: “walking a path that is still being built, while challenging myself and continuing to discover the best version of myself every day.” It’s a mindset that inspires not only personal excellence, but a culture of resilience, collaboration, and continuous learning.

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