MEET THE 2019 LEADERSHIP TRAILBLAZER TOP 10 FINALISTS

Today’s Trailblazer: Gretchen DiFante, City Manager, Pelham, AL

The League caught up with Top 10 Finalist, Gretchen DiFante, City Manager for the City of Pelham, AL to talk about being named a Leadership Trailblazer and having a career in public service:

Q: Congratulations on being named a finalist for the Leadership Trailblazer Award. What does it mean to you to be nominated? 

GRETCHEN:The Trailblazer Award recognizes those who have invested in and inspired others, so to be recognized for those actions is the ultimate honor.  When I read about the other finalists, I felt energized to learn about their actions, accomplishments and positive attitudes.

Q: What led you to a career in public service?

GRETCHEN: I spent most of my career in the private sector and became a consultant when I had to move for my husband’s career.  One consulting job I got was helping our own city create a strategic plan.  I loved working with the city manager and all the departments and seeing how they made a difference in the lives of those in their community on a daily basis.  When the city manager encouraged me to apply for the assistant city manager position when it became available, he said it would be the most rewarding job I’d ever had.   Considering I was executive director of a non-profit counseling agency in an adjacent city, I considered it impossible to find something more rewarding than that work; yet I loved the idea of serving in my own community.  I took the job, and I have never looked back…my city manager was right.

Q: Who were your mentor(s) or advocate(s) in your career?

GRETCHEN: There have been so many, but my first boss, a woman named Jerrie VanGelder, was my first mentor.   We worked in a small office where there were five women and one man.  The work was hard, and the clients were extremely demanding.  On days when the pressure got too intense and we would have conflicts in the office, Jerrie would walk in, tell us we were closing up for an hour and going to eat lunch together.   That’s what we did, and she made us talk to each other and about the things that were weighing us down.  She had a great laugh, and we’d always end up laughing as a team.   We’d go back to work, and everything was better.   I had another female boss who told me I’d never be happy at the agency level until I reached the senior executive level, because I was “too strategic.”  She actually encouraged me to seek an opportunity on the client end and work for a company.   That’s exactly what I did, and I found the perfect opportunity for me.  She remained a great mentor and advocate for me.

Q: What is the most important lesson you learned while coming up in your career?

GRETCHEN: Self-awareness is indispensable.  The ability to recognize my own faults, create opportunities to learn and grow and not take myself too seriously are hard learned lessons; yet they are invaluable lessons that can help strengthen every relationship including those with family, friends and co-workers.   By the way, I’m still working at it.

Q: What advice do you have for women just beginning their careers who would like to be an executive in local government some day?

GRETCHEN: I recommend starting out in the private sector with an organization with a history of great success because of sound fiscal management and investment in people and training.  It doesn’t really matter what you do, just be a part of the organization and learn all you can about what makes it successful and why.   I started out with a regional advertising agency for McDonald’s.  I love telling people my first job out of college was with McDonald’s!  But that company invested in its people.  Even in advertising, we had to work at the restaurants once a year…flipping burgers and working the drive thru.   The training at every level was hard and quality was demanded.   Many local government organizations don’t see themselves as deserving or capable of excellence.  When they talk about competing for talent, they tend to look at the local government agencies surrounding them, but most local governments are organizations with mediocre expectations.  Take your learning and start serving in your own community in some volunteer capacity in an area where you have lots of passion.   Meet people, network, work hard and have fun.   Go on informational interviews with people with whom you’d love to work.  Ask them questions, learn why they do what they do and what they like and don’t like about their jobs.   Follow up, and let them know you are interested in being a part of their organization someday if the right opportunity comes along.  They will remember you… you will get that opportunity, and you will bring a great deal of knowledge and wisdom with you.

Q: What do you hope to leave as your legacy in local government when your career comes to an end?

GRETCHEN: I tend to take on impossible tasks in organizations that need a lot of change in order to realize their potential.  But since organizations are simply made up of people with unique needs and motivations, focusing on the individuals and their needs is the best part of my job.   I hope that when I leave, people will remember me for helping them realize potential in themselves they wouldn’t otherwise have recognized.   One of my favorite quotes (and it is displayed prominently in my office) is by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  My wish is to be remembered for making people feel empowered, energized and hopeful.