I recently read four wonderful personal accounts about the impacts of women on a few local government leaders. A special thanks to Carol Jacobs, Cheryl Hughes, Lori Sassoon and Maria Hurtado for sharing examples with us (be sure to check out their stories). Obviously, these Women Leading Government (WLG) benefitted from exemplary female leaders and now lead their respective organizations and make their own contributions to the profession. As a male city manager, I wanted to share a few outstanding examples of female leaders which had incredible impacts on me both personally and professionally.

Brenda Marstellar Kowalewski, Weber State University, Ogden, UT

Director, Center for Community Engaged Learning

As a young college student with a passion for community service, I met Brenda at a conference. She was a sociology professor who also directed university programs related to student involvement. Brenda taught me that humans make a difference by engaging one another. When she connected me with several other young people leading inner-city educational programs for disadvantaged youth, I found my clique! The synergy from multiple groups of like-minded people, with shared passions, was a recipe for success. Leaders, like Brenda, have a knack for engaging people and then connecting those people to resources. Brenda’s passion for community service was incredible but she is only one person. By engaging others and connecting people to people, and people to resources, she exponentially increased the output! Local government leaders find ways to make the connections.  

Sarah Doherty, Asset Manager, Olathe, KS

Sarah was my first female manager in local government. She is smart, fun, kind and seemed to “look out” for me when I was new and inexperienced. Sarah is not only a manager but a mother. Before I had a family of my own, she taught me how to balance the demands of work with the demands of family, including raising several children. One of my favorite memories was during budget season when work pressure was intense. One day, Sarah couldn’t leave the office and school was cancelled. She brought her younger children into work where they quietly watched movies in the corner as she continued working. She preferred this scenario to working from home. In later years as I became a manager, I distinctly remembered Sarah’s example and allowed my employees to bring children into work if the need was warranted. Sarah taught me that life is about choices, not priorities. We can make choices that support family and work. And no doubt our office always seemed to have pallets of Girl Scout cookies to eat!

Elsie Kemp, Carolyn Formanek & April Verwers, Knoxville, IA

Elected City Council Members (ex officio)

I have been fortunate to work with elected officials from many jurisdictions including municipalities, utilities, advisory boards, chambers of commerce, and so on. But three female leaders seem to stick out. As an assistant city manager in Knoxville, Iowa, City Council members Kemp, Formanek and Verwers never passed up the opportunity to show support and encouragement towards staff. Though individually quiet, together they were the city’s greatest cheerleaders. When staff completed a project, they expressed sincere appreciation. If people moved into town they would provide personal tours of the community to express their love and impart knowledge, also thanking the newcomers for joining the community. Through formal Council action, they once gave all employees an extra day off during the holidays to spend time with families (and as a result of a highly successful year of city business). I believe that by showing appreciation and encouragement, leaders bring out the best in others. Personally, their sharing of praise and gratitude encouraged me to work a little harder and do a little more. Now, I wake up every day and contemplate ways to support and praise others.

Susan Sherman, Assistant City Manager, Olathe, KS

2015-16 ICMA Executive Board Member

If ever there was a leader who deserves emulation, it is Susan Sherman. As a host for an ICMA Local Government Management Internship, as well as recipient of numerous local and national awards during her career in local government, Susan has supervised aspiring city managers for over a decade. She has a passion for helping develop the skills and talents of future city managers. I would also note that 7 of the previous 10 interns are female! Susan used every day in the workplace to teach me values. These values included: advocating for fairness, equity, and transparency in local government; connecting to the community, staff and Council on a personal level; and she even taught the importance of friendships in this career. I am happy to exchange frequent greeting cards and phone calls with Susan. But now that I am a city manager, I find myself using Susan’s example as my informal measuring stick upon which I make decisions. I ask myself, “What would Susan do?” or “How would she handle this situation?” each time I am faced with a new challenge. Coffee breaks, lunches, executive meetings and public forums – she used every opportunity to teach me about values, then gave me every opportunity to succeed on my own. She inspired, then enabled. That’s what leaders do.

Has a certain woman or a group of women impacted your career? Tweet this to thank them:

"Thank you to the women in #localgov that have left a lasting impact on my career! @ICMA #ICMALeadership http://bit.ly/1RjlIwf" Click here to Tweet.