Attributes of a leader

By Anna Lockhart.  

Harnessing your personal strengths and weaknesses can boost your career and confidence as a leader in the field.  

In an episode of Roofing Road Trips®, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with the first and youngest Tremco President, Krista Gnatt, to discuss her role as a source of inspiration for women across the roofing industry. Her success is a testament to her determination and passion for her work.  

Engineer by trade, turned manufacturer and contractor by happenstance, Krista has spent the last two decades dedicating her time and knowledge to the roofing industry. Through these role changes and years gaining experience, and being a first-generation college graduate, Krista attributes her blue-collar upbringing as one of the core reasons for her success in the industry. She shared, “My grandfathers were cement masons, my dad a union carpenter for 43 years. My brother is an electrician. And my husband is a water-proofer, tuck-pointer. We didn’t meet in this environment, but it’s amazing that you find out so much about your roots and your upbringing translate to your career and your happiness and your success later on in life.”  

Secondly, she attributed her success to the passion and positivity of her personality, which can be a major strength in building relationships as a leader. She explained, “This is a people business from our customers, our clients, our contractor partners, the people within our own organization. You really have to understand and be able to communicate the why behind what you're doing. And as a leader, you can't do it by yourself. You need a great team behind you. So having a personality that cares about and can relate to all the different aspects of our organization, I do really believe that I bring that to the table.”

Having love and passion for what you do is a key driver for success, in any field, but especially one like the trades, where relationships can be major factors in securing sales. But beyond that, having an understanding of the field in which you work pays off ten-fold.  “My third success point, I would say, is my love of math and my love for analytical thinking. That's ultimately what drove me to engineering. I did think I would work under a licensed engineer and get that stamp, but I got an internship with a contracting company in my sophomore year of engineering school, pivoting me towards this path,” Krista shared.  
“It's a way of thinking. It's an analytical way of thinking to problem solve and think outside of the box. So that has really attributed to my success, because you have to be able to do that and pivot and think to promote growth.”

In Krista’s career, these three personal attributes – upbringing, personality and way of thinking – created the perfect storm for success. Finding her place as a major leader in her company, and in the industry, has made her an inspirational figure many women and industry professionals can look to in motivating them to achieving greatness and unlocking success through harnessing their own strengths.  

Read the transcript or Listen to the conversation to learn more about Krista and her work.