As we continue meeting the wonderful women in leadership here at StorageMart, this week’s spotlight is on Debbie Garner, one of two Regional Managers in Iowa. While I’ve always thought Debbie is a delightful person to interact with, our chats are usually brief and marketing-related, so I asked a couple of colleagues who know her best to help me introduce her.
Jesse Snyder, the other Regional Manager in Iowa, had this to say: When I started with StorageMart, I had never worked in the self-storage industry before. From day one, Debbie was invested in me and in making sure I received the training and support I needed to be successful. She embodies hard work and teamwork every day, and I’m very happy to manage the Des Moines metro together with the best interest of the entire market in mind. She is a huge asset to the organization, a wonderful person and a very knowledgeable self-storage professional.
Alain Gingras, Senior Director Operations, said: Debbie and I first met when I took over the eastern seaboard region. She had been a regional for a short while and I immediately felt she had immense potential. Her drive, work ethics, pride of ownership and willingness to learn is what most impressed me. Making sure she was always presenting her own solutions to the problems she was bringing to my attention, not directing her but leading her instead, she built the confidence she needed.
Debbie grew into her potential, she is assertive, dedicated and professional, always striving to not only execute, but to exceed expectations. She has learned to understand what her employees need, not everyone being the same, and she now gets the best from them.
I am so please to see how Debbie bloomed into the leader she now is.
What do you do at StorageMart?
Regional Manager, Des Moines, West Iowa
How long have you been at StorageMart?
Ten years and eight months
Is there a particular turning point in your professional experience that really helped define your career path?
In 2013, a larger opportunity was presented to me that in March of 2014, we would be taking over a new portfolio of stores. Alain, my supervisor, presented the offer to me. I accepted, relocated from Maryland to Des Moines, Iowa – where I was born and raised – to take on a huge opportunity to oversee a new market for our company. This was a turning point for me, as well as a challenge to grow and oversee double the amount of locations I had in the Maryland/VA/Georgia market at the time.
To what or whom have you turned to for inspiration throughout your career?
Alain Gingras for the first eight years of my career.
What are some qualities of strong leadership that have proved important but are often overlooked in a professional setting?
Maintaining strong leadership for may years in Iowa and overseeing up to 18 locations at one time. Holding the highest numbers company wide for closing/upgrades percentages and really holding my locations accountable to keep StorageMart standards.
How much was really accomplished in the Iowa market for the first 4 years.
Based on your experience, what is one thing managers or execs could do better to support and encourage women in the workplace?
Involvement with more corporate meetings to see the larger view outside of just our regions.
What is one thing a leader has done to help promote women in the workplace — either organizationally or for you personally?
Gave me the opportunity to grow in my position with more responsibility in my role, for example: Challenge to take over a new purchase and make it run smoothly, grown and make our company revenue.
Tell us a bit about what you do when you aren’t busy being a rock star at work.
Spending time with my grandchildren: water parks, camping, cooking out with just family time.