Building an ecosystem from the ground up and the leadership lessons that followed.
Leading a Team of Neurodivergent People at Amanda Learning Center
In 2013, my younger brother was diagnosed with Autism. When we realized he didn’t quite fit into the formal school system, my mother and I decided to build a solution. We co-founded Amanda Learning Center, a non-formal education facility for children navigating Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia.
Through navigating government regulations, we secured accreditation under the Indonesian PKBM (Formal School Equivalency) system, ensuring our students could eventually enroll in universities.
Here is a look at how that journey shaped my approach to operations and team management over the last decade:
2013–2021: Lean Operations & International Partnerships In the early days, we operated as a non-profit. Because we didn't have the budget for expensive CRM systems, I had to build our administrative ecosystem from scratch. I handled HR, accounting, and student registrations, optimizing everyday touchpoints like WhatsApp and social media to communicate effectively with parents.
In 2017, our operational stability helped us secure a 5-year funding partnership with an Australian donor organization. I took ownership of the international reporting, ensuring total transparency and sustained trust.
2021–Present: Scaling, ClickUp, and Neuro-inclusive Leadership As we transitioned into a for-profit model, our team grew to 12 teachers and a dedicated back-office staff. To manage this scale, I integrated ClickUp to streamline our workflows.
During this phase, I also directly managed a back-office employee navigating Borderline Personality Disorder. This was a profoundly valuable leadership experience. To support his workflow, I embraced flexible, asynchronous management (accommodating his need to work late at night) and prioritized creative freedom over micromanagement. It taught me the crucial difference between just "managing tasks" and actually providing psychological safety for a neurodiverse team.
My Core Takeaways on Team Management:
Working as the operational bridge for our teachers and back-office staff taught me a few universal truths about leadership:
Autonomy drives retention: Five of our 12 teachers have been with us for over 9 years. We achieved this by recognizing their ideas and giving them the creative freedom to explore their own teaching strengths within our standard operating procedures.
Community over hierarchy: We fostered a culture where employees felt safe speaking up to improve our systems. When your team feels like co-creators rather than just subordinates, the customer journey naturally improves.
Intentional communication: I learned to step back and make room for group input rather than overriding conversations with my own ideas. Leadership is often just active listening followed by clear, compassionate accountability.
Protecting the ecosystem: When faced with internal staff conflicts or compliance issues, I learned to mediate firmly. Resolving issues isn't just about consequences; it is about immediately improving the SOPs so the system protects the team moving forward.
Prioritizing the customer journey over the marketing budget: Because we ran a lean operation, I pressed the marketing budget as much as possible. We reallocated those funds directly into program quality and performance bonuses for our teachers. In a niche market, a brilliant customer experience and word-of-mouth referrals will always beat a traditional ad campaign.
Building this center taught me that at the heart of every great operation is a deep understanding of people. I'm incredibly grateful for the journey.