Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: “Seeing me in my position is just as important to the men in my company as it is to anyone else” With Dr. Christianna Taylor of Gantri
Seeing me in my position is just as important to the men in my company as it is to anyone else. I’ve had more than one person on my team tell me they joined Gantri because they thought I was interesting to work with; I’ve ran into the same thing when I interview people. I’ve had interviewees tell me they were intimidated to speak to me but was relieved that I put them at ease. For me that’s important because the next time they run into a woman leader they will expect a positive experience but know they have to show competence.
As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Christianna Taylor. Dr. Taylor is the CTO of Gantri, a 3D printing platform for modern design. Originally from Chicago, she made her way to the Bay by way of Georgia Tech, NASA JPL, the Kaufman Foundation and Singularity University. During her time at Gantri she has designed the new Gantri 3D printer called Dancer and is responsible for the R&D trajectory of the company. Previously she was a global fellow for the Kauffman Foundation and a Global Fellow at Singularity University where she learned about exponential technology and how to change her thinking of how fast the world can actually move. She holds a B.S in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University and an M.S. and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She enjoys travel, meditation and watching sci-fi movies to analyze the physics and leadership qualities.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always been a tinkerer. My uncle was a carpenter, and my family learned early on to make sure they give me a screwdriver and something to take apart so that I would stay out of his hair, or give me a task so I can help. I decided that I definitely wanted to be an engineer because I loved to tinker. I chose Aerospace because I was 3 and a half when I saw Haley’s comet and I wanted to be an astronaut. Working at Gantri has been a great experience because I get to build up technology as much as I build up people.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
I think the most interesting was being on the cover of San Francisco Magazine. That felt like a moment right out of a movie or sitcom. And then that very same day I was back to checking software, designing hardware and maintaining production. My parents were so proud when it came out, but I just remembered it being a moment (an amazing moment), but just a moment of my day.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My first day at the job, I was 5 minutes late because I was grabbing candy for the office. Now I’m feeling self conscious and worried about a bad impression only to be told that I’ve got 2 weeks to completely redesign the entire packaging system. So I design a testing rig that would calculate the accelerations for each side of the package to find the forces exerted on the product. The problem was that it was a prototyping test rig, so I’m literally going through this bird’s nest of wiring to calculate the forces to have some quantitative data on why things were breaking when the data kept giving me this crazy readings because the wires were not secure. I burned my hand trying to solder a piece, when I looked up and had 4 days left to find an answer. So I said this is ridiculous. I could take 2 months to make this work absolutely perfectly, for something I just could go test. So I scrapped my week and a half of work, and made a simpler plan to just drop the packaging with different packing options. My mistake was expecting it needed technology rather than just looking at how can we do it better. This was my first on the job lesson: it doesn’t have to be fancy or an academic dissertation. Sometimes I just need an answer and I need to just try it.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think Gantri stands out because it focuses on bringing digital manufacturing to consumer goods. When we hear and think of platform we think of social media because it’s been the biggest change in how businesses operate in my life time. Yes, it’s only enabled by the internet, but the social media image has changed entire political regimes, levelled the playing fields between people everywhere, and quite frankly broadcast a lot of good and bad to the entire world. It has connected people as much as it’s divided them, but it’s been the single most powerful tool I think the world wields. Gantri is unique in that it looks at leveraging that platform aspect of business with the physical world. You can have a real connection to not only the design and designer, but to others that seek the same aesthetic. Gantri pieces are pieces that have a story behind them, that not only changes the way we manufacture consumer goods, but how we connect to the pieces in our home. I think Gantri is unique in that we are looking at how we automate while making sustainable design affordable and available to everyone while keeping the individuality of design. This is coming from someone who knew nothing of design; I knew my gut, and I to this day trust my gut, but I understand when something is well thought out versus when you just got lucky that it came together. We seek to tell both of those stories and make them available.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I can’t give the details just yet, but look for us in February. Something big is coming.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
I don’t think anyone is satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM. I think the biggest issue that women face is hostile work environments. You’ll hear about pipelines, support systems, networks etc, but the bottom line is that you can’t just get women INTO STEM fields, you have to KEEP them there and let them grow and flourish. If you don’t think about the work it takes to maintain a great workplace we’re really failing entire generations of women that are attracted to the STEM fields.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
I think there’s a very real issue that women take on a disproportionate amount of work in the home and are expected to be the main caregivers for children and parents regardless of their careers. The answer lies in providing child care services and giving women adequate time for their body to heal from childbirth.
Men would benefit from these very same services, but I think women face a larger penalty to their careers for taking the time to heal their bodies and raise their family. STEM needs to lead the way in work life balance that doesn’t penalize women for making the same decisions that men make.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
The biggest myth is that women in STEM can’t perform, lead, or don’t exist. Women don’t leave STEM because of the work, they leave because of the environment. They leave because there’s nothing in place to keep them. There’s no leadership around them to understand their experiences. They’re not empowered to speak. When they do speak up, they’re not listened too, or their ideas are stolen and given credit elsewhere. Every woman I know, knows at least 10 other women in STEM that are not glorified or shown on the panels; so when you hear “we couldn’t find women” you know it’s a lie. Just ask any woman out there, they know other women who are doing amazing things. If the women you know, know of women who are doing great things in their fields, then it’s not that you can’t find women, it’s that you didn’t look and you didn’t ask. We exist, we are here, and we belong here.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
My voice matters
Part of leadership is that others give their trust that you’ll provide the guidance needed. That means you have to speak up! Even when it’s uncomfortable, I have to speak up. I provide balance and I provide one of the best tools: my gut! There are things I can’t explain, but if my gut says ”No”, I speak up. There have been a few times all the signs said “yes” and I just said my gut says “no”, and that was weighed as an equal option. I was able to find the data and justification later, but I trusted myself, and my team trusts my leadership so I always remember to use my voice.
I create and cultivate an environment of mutual respect and understanding
One of the first projects I did with my engineers, I thought they did a good job, so I told the CEO and then I sat them down and told them. They looked at me in amazement and actually said they’re not used to getting compliments. That was beyond me. One thing I definitely take credit for is that I encourage everyone to show appreciation for each other and it’s understood we say OUT LOUD thank you, I appreciate you, good job.
My leadership style is unique, represents me and is just as valid and necessary
I have to remind myself that my leadership style is just as relevant to the team and must represent the best of me at all times. That means if I need to provide more framework I find a way to do it collaboratively; if I need to give more freedom I make sure to give a deadline. No matter the need I adjust and that flexibility is a huge part of my leadership style. I make sure to be the person I needed, follow the examples of leaders I respect, and make sure I’m not like the ones I do not trust.
Seeing me in my position is just as important to the men in my company as it is to anyone else
I’ve had more than one person on my team tell me they joined Gantri because they thought I was interesting to work with; I’ve ran into the same thing when I interview people. I’ve had interviewees tell me they were intimidated to speak to me but was relieved that I put them at ease. For me that’s important because the next time they run into a woman leader they will expect a positive experience but know they have to show competence.
LISTEN!
No matter what the problem, I listen first. I give room in every interaction for others to provide their point of view. Even in difficult conversations, performance reviews, not hitting metrics, etc. I listen before I ever say a word. Listening lead me to provide a separate slack space for production to have direct access to software so they increase production by 50%. Listening showed me we weren’t giving the resources to an employee who didn’t feel comfortable speaking up. Listening has given me valuable insight into every single employee and how I can respond to their needs. Before you act, listen!
What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?
Find your tribe. Find other women that look like you with similar challenges. Find other women that are not like you for their perspective. Just find your community and keep a tight tribe around you to give you perspective. You’ll need a diversity of trusted opinions to find the angle you never thought of, but you need to be comfortable to speak freely. So find your tribe no matter what that tribe looks like, find your tribe!
What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
My best advice to manage is to manage in your own way. You don’t have to imitate others styles because there’s not only one way of leadership. I think we only see and gravitate towards one type of leadership, and it’s extremely male and militant. There are times you need that type of leadership and there’s times you need other forms. So never be afraid to lead according to the way that works best for you; that said, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and reach for those other types when one way doesn’t work.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The only time I have ever completely fan-girled out in my entire life was when I met Mae Jemison. See I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to be one since I was 3 years old and I saw Haley’s comet and learned about space and astronauts. And Mae Jemison was the first black woman astronaut and I wanted to be just like her. Nevermind I don’t do biology, she was the first and I wanted to be just like her. Imagine my IRE when my high school had her as the speaker the year before I graduated and I couldn’t go to that graduation. I didn’t meet her until I was 29 finishing up my PhD at a conference. I couldn’t do anything but repeat slowly to myself, don’t be weird, don’t be weird, don’t be weird . . . Of course I was weird. She’d set up a movie for the conference to see and I just so happened to be speaking to her assistant (I really didn’t know this was her assistant, but she and I have become friends since), and she comes over. I’m inwardly SCREAMING DON’T BE WEIRD. So she offers to drive me to the movie with her assistant and then kindly takes me to dinner afterwards. When I tell you I was in heaven. My idol, the first black female astronaut took me to the movies and dinner because she wanted too; no other reason. She felt like it! And I asked the dumbest question: did she remember what the rocket felt like? I seriously asked her that in the middle of the movie and she looked at me and laughed a bit.. I managed to not be weird that entire conference until the very last day because that was my chance to say thank you and I broke down crying saying thank you so much for being an example of what a girl from Chicago could be and I completely loved space because of her. Mind you this was in the woman’s bathroom because I didn’t want to not tell her thank you because I’d clearly never see her again. I say that laughing because I’ve been blessed to see her multiple times since then, but I wasn’t going to let that chance go. So yeah I was weird, but I didn’t care, and as far as I know, neither did she. I’m sure she gets that everyday.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I give back by being open and trying to say yes to giving back to others. When I grew up, I went everywhere and I applied to anything and everything to get exposure to the world. I was only able to have the privilege of going so many places, seeing so many things, and having amazing experiences because someone else said yes to speaking to me. Someone took the coffee, gave the advice, opened the door, shared their network, or gave me a recommendation — so I make sure to give back in the ways that I know so many gave to me. I’ve had people ask for help looking for jobs and connected them to recruiters I know. I always try to say yes to speaking to students, and trying to support others still early in their careers. I’m still in my professional journey and I’m still amazed at those who say yes to giving me advice, so I make sure to pay it forward and the only thing I ask is for others to pay it forward when they have it to give.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I think free access to mental health and starting children with mental health awareness would change the entire world. Everyone focuses on the future, mental health tools and awareness helps you focus on the present and I think everyone should have access to them from a young age. I personally meditate every day and it changed my life. But that access has to run the gambit from health providers, therapists, psychiatrists, spiritual work, meditation, and medication. Mental health has such a stigma associated with it still that I have lost two friends to suicide. I know too many people that came out of depressive episodes and I only knew after the fact because they did not want to reach out. I am saddened thinking those episodes could be shortened if only they had free access to the tools and the stigma was removed.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My two mantas: All of my problems are solvable! and Be willing to let it go!
On “All my problems are solvable”:every problem in the world is solvable. It may not be the answer you want, but there is an answer. There is also times where you have to redefine how you look at the “problem” because some problems aren’t problems. They are only problems because you define them as such. Redefine the “problem” and a lot of worries will go away.
On “Being willing to let it go”: we hold on to things for entirely too long. Don’t be afraid to let go of what you think you hold most dear. Either you let it go or life will make you let it go. It’ll come back if it’s meant to be.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
I’d love to have brunch with Michelle Obama at the Chicago Cultural Center. A few reasons, but mainly because when I read Becoming it made me miss home and I could relate to her personal story of growing up in Chicago. I was surprised to even relate to her candid admission that she’s been in rooms she didn’t feel she belonged in, even as FLOTUS!!, but that she learned to wield a different type of soft power. She did that so well and made so many proud, I’d love to say thank you and relate to how we both grew up.
