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.