‘If you do what you love, it really isn’t work,’ says Layne Lewis, an aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and visionary. Layne has dedicated her 36-year creative business career to affecting change and finding solutions for organizations ranging from NASA to the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Throughout her career, she has worked with both tiny start-ups and huge organizations, such as Hewlett-Packard and Booz Allen & Hamilton. She has also been involved in all stages of the product development lifecycle. Layne volunteers as a coach for Girls on the Run in Idaho and seeks to impart her skills to other STEM organizations. She currently serves as the president of Willowview Consulting, LLC.
While growing up, Layne was introduced to mathematics by her father, who was a mathematician and professor. She always liked mathematics; however, she did not want to be a professor like her father. She opted for applied math, which, to her, looked like aerospace engineering. Layne completed her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona and received her MBA from the University of Washington. The inception of Willowview began with an idea to solve a problem. She saw that a lot of entrepreneurs have amazing ideas, yet they are unaware of the development process. To them, she says, “We can help.” Layne assists business leaders in creating an exceptional strategy that craters their expectations and contributes to the execution of that idea. As an advisory firm, Willowview offers engineering services and program administration for a variety of industries. Layne and her team work with customers to guide innovations from prototype to production. They rapidly solve technical challenges, turning ideas into viable solutions ready for the market. She is also assisting bigger companies to infuse innovative ideas into their product lines, as they can’t afford time to focus. The company is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, works remote-first, and has team members across the United States – and Chile.
Tenacity, Performance, Integrity
Layne solely believes in these core traits—tenacity, performance, and integrity. She states that tenacity means believing in a team, idea, or concept and continuing to push through the naysayers. It is similar to being at mile 75 of a 100-mile horse race; being tired or deflated does not mean that it is over. “Trust in yourself and know that you have trained and prepared for this and that nothing worthwhile is easy,” she states. Moreover, she asserts that performance means continuing to train, learn, and do more each day. “Build up a team of individuals that make the company a stronger team and allow them to do their job. Remove hurdles for employees so that they can focus on their role,” she adds. “Integrity means speaking the truth, even when it is hard. It might mean firing a client or an employee if a line is crossed. It means not cowing to pressure if you do not believe in the cause. It is a different kind of strength that is invaluable as you grow your reputation.”
Decisiveness and COVID-19
Working on weapons is an inevitable aspect of working in the aerospace and military industries. However, Layne made a decision a long time ago that she did not want this to be the focus of any of her work efforts. When she is asked to work in this field, she always makes an effort to discuss her concerns with all team members who may be affected. Layne requires all new hires to do the “Discover Your Clifton Strengths” assessment, which is based on Don Clifton’s “Now Discover Your Strengths” program. The objective is to do one’s best in areas where one shines. She believes finding one’s talents should be the goal, as opposed to dwelling on one’s faults. “This also allows us to understand how to best communicate and motivate one another,” Layne adds.
In 2020, when the entire world was changing and her company was at risk of losing customers, she had to make some hard decisions for the company. She made the decision to present the possibilities to the group and solicit their opinions. There were a few options available to her and her team: having her work for no pay; having the leadership team accept a pay cut; and laying off some but not all of the team members. As she got ready for the upcoming payroll cycles, she received two sizable new contracts that overturned the entire conversation. “CRAZY times, but I kept the team together because I did not alienate anyone during that time,” she expresses.
"Speak when you have something to say, and be polite yet forceful if necessary. Often, people confuse kindness with weakness."
Ranch teaches her best
Layne reckons that her ranch days are the epitome of her being resilient. She has to be strong to do chores, deal with some horrific injuries, and literally get back up when knocked down. Learning from her experience, she tells her teams, clients, and partners that knowing your capabilities is only one half of the equation; equally important is knowing your limitations and having the reputation and contacts to know whom to call in at the appropriate time. “I know that when I ask for support, people are happy to give it to us—this was earned, not given,” she adds.
Being a woman in leadership was a much larger issue for her as a younger woman, working through pregnancies and raising a family. When she had her second child, she wanted to spend more time at home but had some difficulty persuading her employer to let her work part-time. “But I did it, and I continued to push for the things that made logical sense but were just ‘not typical’,” she adds. Her approach was always to think logically through her situation and come up with options that she could negotiate to get as close to a win as she could.
Layne enjoys spending time on her ranch in Idaho with her family, where she gardens and likes to ride horses. She states that working with horses has honed her emotional intelligence since they are a non-verbal species, and she had to learn how to read their body language to understand what they were trying to say. She now “speaks horse”, and can tell whether one of her introverted animals is lying to her on a ride, like not showing Layne how weary it is. She also frequently has the “drama queen” animal, who may act out and create a ruckus, but only because it can’t wait to get going. When working with human teams, the abilities she acquired from her equine activities come in handy.
Learnings from 36 years of experience
Working in both the aerospace and military technology arenas, Layne states that she is often the only woman in the room during meetings. This, together with her 36 years of experience, has led her to discover the lessons and guidance that any aspiring leader can adhere to:
Know the material. Do your homework and be prepared ahead of the meeting.
Speak when you have something to say, and be polite yet forceful if necessary. Often, people confuse kindness with weakness.
Layne’s style may not work for everyone. Once she realized that she was going to focus on who she was and not try to be who everyone else thought she should be, she lost a few friends and colleagues. This is an inevitable part of figuring out who you are and how you can be the most authentically effective.
She asks everyone to determine their style and applaud it. She lives on a ranch and raises and trains endurance horses. She wears boots some days and does not get her nails done. She might come into work exhausted on a Monday because she worked all weekend to make sure the foals had what they needed in freezing weather conditions. She is proud of her accomplishments and does not apologize for who she is. She recognizes that this portion of herself plays a critical role in her leadership style and her ability to persevere.
Recognizing diversity is powerful. Layne loves surrounding herself with people who think differently than she does. “It makes me take pause and consider my answers much of the time,” she adds.
In the end, she says that sometimes she runs the risk of giving too much of herself to a project or person to try and enable their success. Over the years, she has figured out ways to ensure that she becomes part of the equation and maintains her health and well-being to ensure the company stays viable and healthy.
