Bad bosses are quick to blow their cool. Great bosses are quick to show they’re cool. Here are three local leaders who put the “super” in supervisor.
Photos By Heidi Reuter
Tyler Weisman
NEW CASTLE LAWN AND LANDSCAPE
It didn’t take long for New Castle Lawn and Landscape to impress Tyler Weisman. That happened almost immediately.
“I was impressed just pulling into the facility, walking in, getting to sit down with the ownership team, talking to the sales manager at the time,” says Weisman, who began four years ago as a sales account executive at the Birdsboro business before moving up to sales manager. “The culture really blew me away.”
It’s safe to say New Castle feels the same way about Weisman.
“Tyler is an exceptional leader,” says Tricia Williams, vice president of sales and marketing. “He goes above and beyond to support our team's growth and well-being. Tyler's leadership style not only promotes professional development but also creates a sense of belonging and camaraderie among the team. He truly makes us feel comfortable asking questions and sharing our perspectives — it's a testament to the positive culture he's cultivated. We couldn’t ask for a better leader, boss and friend.”
Weisman is quick to share the credit, praising the work ethic and openness of his sales team, part of the nearly 100-strong employee base at the company.
“They're always willing to learn,” he says. “We're all learning together. In today's world, there are always new trends; there are always new things that are going to come up. I love that they're always willing to provide me feedback because I'm learning too. I want someone to tell me if I've made a mistake so I can grow from it.”
New Castle is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Offering hardscaping and outdoor living design, landscaping, lawn care treatment, tree service, garden maintenance and more, the business was voted “Best Lawn & Landscape Company” in these very pages.
“I'll put that back on the leaders that we have here,” Weisman says. “I'm not a micromanager. I don't have the energy. I don't have any interest in doing anything like that. I want to see people making their own decisions, and I want to have a team of leaders, and there's only one way to let that happen: that's to let people make their own mistakes and their own decisions. I'm proud of our team.”
Not surprisingly, the Governor Mifflin graduate calls himself a big people person who loves the outdoors and spending time with friends and family, including his 7-year-old daughter.
Also not surprisingly, he credits his team for putting him in a position to be called a cool boss.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Weisman says.
Photos By Heidi Reuter
Annmarie Morganti
GAGE TALENT & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS | GAGE PERSONNEL
"One of my favorite phrases is ‘I listen to listen,’ and that resonates with my staff.”
The recruiting industry has a high rate of turnout and burnout. Third-generation family-owned Gage Talent & Business Solutions (Gage Personnel) in West Reading continues to buck that trend thanks to its culture.
“We're family-centered, and because it's a family-owned and -operated business, worklife balance is absolutely of top importance,” says Annmarie Morganti, director of operations and recruitment solutions. “It speaks volumes to our company culture, our leadership team internally, just how we treat people.”
Morganti, who oversees the company’s team of recruiters, is a prime example of that. She’s nearing her 20-year anniversary with Gage and says she plans to stay there for many years to come.
That’s welcome news to her co-workers.
“Annmarie fixes all things IT, is an awesome mom, friend and great human,” says Debbie Ramsey, director of human resources and client/community relations at Gage. “We are so lucky to have her.”
Ramsey’s sentiments were seconded by Kristi Gage, a member of the family’s third generation of owners. Not a bad person to have in your corner.
Morganti describes her style as hands-on; she says she is always willing to jump in and help. Having performed many of the jobs at the firm over the past two decades, her wide-ranging repository of in-depth knowledge allows her to assist with almost any task.
And she makes it a point to always be available — and attentive.
“One of my favorite phrases is ‘I listen to listen,’ and that resonates with my staff,” she says. “Because to be able to be a good manager, you really do have to listen, and you need to be able to work and provide creative solutions to the team and give everybody the opportunity to bring their ideas to the table so we can get to a solution. And, of course, we like to win. We celebrate all the wins. We like to have fun, but we also get the job done.”
The company employs about 20 at its corporate office, but that doesn’t come close to reflecting the number of jobs in which it is involved.
“When people ask us how many employees we have externally, it's hard to say a specific number simply because we do the contract staffing, the direct hire solutions, recruitment,” she says. “We place thousands of employees. They may never be on our payroll, but they are in their employment, based on how Gage got them there.”
When asked to name something she is most proud of during her time there, she mentioned helping a local company expand into different states. It wasn’t exactly something Gage had done prior to that request.
“It was a great opportunity for Gage to step into a different kind of role and just help create solutions where their company didn't have the resources,” she says. “We were able to step in and be an extension of their HR department, which then supported their recruiting, onboarding and retention efforts.”
Only expected to last a few months, the project ended up expanding over multiple years, launching Gage into kind of a whole new realm of services.
Her free time isn’t all that free thanks to her two kids, who keep Morganti and her husband quite busy with school activities, sporting events and the like. But she relishes being busy with them and makes it a point to enjoy it while it lasts.
“My daughter just graduated from high school,” she says. “It’s a reminder to be present in the moment because it really does fly by.”
Photos By Heidi Reuter
Phil Borup
YMCA OF READING AND BERKS COUNTY
Why did the employee get fired from the calendar factory?
He took a day off.
(Pause for groans)
This type of dad joke might be heard at the beginning of a YMCA of Reading and Berks County meeting, sandwiched between discussions about success stories and selfimprovement. It’s one of the ways President and CEO Phil Borup keeps things from getting too serious.
“I can be stoic and smooth and keep everything confined within my leadership position, but one of the things that I like to do is to open the door a little bit and let my employees see the man, the person,” says Borup, who joined the organization nearly two years ago after a stint at the Montana YMCA.
“Doing these dad jokes is one of the ways that I help my staff let their hair down and get to know me,” he says. “I've learned over the years that if you're willing to open up a little bit, be a little bit vulnerable, your staff are more likely to gravitate and work under those circumstances because you've been willing to share a piece of who you are.”
That’s especially important at the sprawling YMCA of Reading and Berks County. The 166-yearold organization has five branches across the region along with an early learning center, housing and a daycare and pre-K at its Reading location.
Tightening up the structure, creating an overarching umbrella that allows everyone to act as synergistic parts, is one of the most important things Borup has done since taking the helm almost two years ago, says Christina Faller, vice president of marketing and communications.
“He genuinely cares about people, which I think makes him a really good fit for the Y,” she says. “He empowers everybody. He wants you to see the big picture and understand how you fit in. But he's open to ideas. He wants you to succeed, and he wants you to feel empowered to make decisions and do your job well. And he trusts his team. I think that's a big piece of empowering people.”
She also highlighted his willingness to volunteer for decidedly non-boss duties. Borup has visited the organization’s branches dressed as Santa and once had a bucket of ice water poured on him while wearing short sleeves outside in January during the YMCA’s Marsh Madness Plunge benefit.
"He empowers everybody. He wants you to see the big picture and understand how you fit in.”
Borup joined the YMCA in Montana about 12 years ago after working in home healthcare and physical therapy. He and his wife loved it there, but they wanted to strengthen their relationships with their two grown sons, who lived in Philadelphia. Having previously worked in King of Prussia, Borup began looking for YMCA openings in southeastern Pennsylvania.
“We felt the YMCA of Reading and Berks County was right for us,” he says. “So I applied and got the job. The area is beautiful, the people are beautiful, and we're so grateful to be here. We feel like we're having an impact in the community and at the Y. Our relationships with our boys are really strong. I just recently moved one of my sons to Harrisburg. So our choice of Reading was perfect because we're right in the middle of Philadelphia and Harrisburg.”
In his free time, he’s a foodie who enjoys hiking, archery, cars and music. Fun fact: in college, country singer Tanya Tucker tried to recruit him to be a backup singer.
And, of course, you can often find him gleefully disseminating dad jokes, like during one of his recent trips to the bank.
“I said, ‘I want you guys to have a joke you can tell people,’” he recalls. “So when you go home, say: ‘Hey, you know that I work at the bank, right? I'm a bank teller. And this elderly woman came in today and asked me to check her balance. So I pushed her over.’”
