Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Stephanie Lena Of Lena Design On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Kelly Reeves

Be authentic. I have never tried to be anything other than who I am. It is important to know who you are — knowing your weak points is just as important as knowing your strengths. If you are self-aware, then you can determine more creative ways to overcome your weaknesses. People respond positively when you can show your own humanness.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Lena.

Stephanie Lena, award-winning furniture designer and principal designer at Lena Design, has successfully tackled the male dominated furniture and design industry. She has held positions from creative director to vice president of merchandising and designed product for several well-known furniture companies. With her innovative product designs, she has helped to rebrand companies, taking them from small home furnishings manufacturers to respected and emulated brands producing highly sought-after home furnishings.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

Growing up, I was constantly rearranging the furniture in my room. I loved picking out my own wallpaper, paint and eventually furniture — which was where my love of design started. When my mom would redecorate our family home, she would ask for my opinions from sofa fabrics to paint colors even when I was young. My grandparents were always remodeling something in their home, and I found it so inspirational to watch the process which led to the finished design. Design has always been important to me — it did not matter what kind of design, whether it was product, architecture, or cars. In 1999 when Target launched the Michael Graves line of products, it sparked something in me. That was the beginning of my fascination with product design.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I started college with the intention of becoming an architect. In the first semester, I realized my heart was not in it when I was more interested in the industrial design projects that my friends were doing. When I decided to switch majors, I really wanted to design cars because I was impressed with the clay models they used in the studio. What I discovered about car design, though, was it is VERY competitive, and you could end up designing rear view mirrors for the rest of your life — -so, I looked for other avenues to pursue. The design program at Western Michigan University focused heavily on furniture design because there were many furniture manufacturers based in western Michigan. It truly was the perfect path for me. I had always been interested in Interior Design but also loved designing products, so this was the ideal way for me to design products while still being involved in interiors.

After graduating from Western Michigan with a degree in Industrial Design, I tried working in a furniture store as a salesperson to cut my teeth in the business. Sales was definitely not my strong suit so I tried to learn as much as I could from the other people I was working with. Finally getting a job as a furniture designer in a furniture company, I understood the importance of designing not only a beautiful piece of furniture — -but to tell the story to make someone want to have that piece in their home.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Well, it started my career, and it is a great story!

I had just graduated with a degree in Industrial Design. I did not have any real strategy to gain employment, so I was working in a restaurant until I figured it out. One Tuesday evening, I was given a table of seven people, all of which I could tell were executives in a company. They were talking about furniture the whole evening so near the end of their meal, as I was pouring wine, I got up the nerve to ask the man at the head of the table if they were in the furniture industry. He said yes and when I explained I was looking to get in, he asked what I did. I told him I wanted to design furniture. It felt like the lights in the restaurant went off and the spotlight was all on me. For the remainder of their time that evening, they were grilling me about what I wanted to do. The president of that company gave me his card and told me to call. A woman at the table put her arm around me and told me to be sure I made that call, and she would take me under her wing. Everyone kept their promises and that was how I got my foot in the door!

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Kindness: No matter who I am working with or for, it is important to just be nice. Business is tough, but I find that if you are nice to others, they enjoy your personality and want to work with you more frequently.

Tenacity: I have traveled all over the world for my job. While it has been enjoyable, there are days that you are literally watching paint dry standing in the sun outside a factory in Asia. Things do not always go as planned and you want to give up. But you cannot. You must have the patience to just stick with it. Then, when you go to a show and see how retailers react to a new introduction, you get a new boost of confidence after you have worked so hard on a project. It revitalizes you and keeps you going! And an added bonus is when you win awards for the pieces that you have designed.

Risk Taker: I have gotten to be where I am because I have swung from rope to rope taking risks to try new things. When I was younger, it did not feel as scary. Now that I have more experience, I analyze the risk before taking the leap. In 2005 a woman I was working with asked me if I wanted to move to AZ (from KY) to go work for a company with her. Having never been to AZ, I said sure! I was ready for something new, and it was my first foray into traveling the world for product development. I had never traveled overseas alone before, but it became second nature to me after a while. I was going over to Asia between 6 and 8 times a year. If you asked me when I was young if I ever thought I would go to China by myself, I would have said no. Yet here I am today with a few full passports from all the travel I have done. By being flexible, it opened many more opportunities for me that I just kept taking.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?

I was raised to be polite and have always been a little shy. One of the hardest things I’ve had to overcome is sitting in a board room and speaking up when I can bring something to the table that others haven’t thought of. Once you get the hang of it, though, people respect you more when you bring your ideas forward. It takes practice. You cannot yell to get attention and you cannot wait to be called on because you will never move up. It is a skill to have the right timing to know when you can make the other people at the table listen and accept your opinions.

Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?

The most obvious thing I can say is that I have always been a hard worker. People notice that. When I first started travelling to Asia to oversee product development, the president of the company I was working for would sit back and watch me with a slight smile. He knew there was more in me, and it was his way of being supportive to say keep going without saying a word.

For most of my career, I have been the only female in the company going over to Asia to oversee product development. I became known for my design talent at many of the factories. In one of my roles, I was traveling to Vietnam with the COO of the company, and he said he had vetted me with some of his factories and they all knew me. He was quite impressed that I had gained a reputation for being able to get things done.

What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?

I think most furniture companies have already recognized that women bring many assets to the table. The furniture industry has acknowledged that women are the predominant consumers and by having women on their team they can be beneficial to their organization in areas from customer service to leadership. I have seen that evolve over my career.

Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?”

Be authentic. I have never tried to be anything other than who I am. It is important to know who you are — knowing your weak points is just as important as knowing your strengths. If you are self-aware, then you can determine more creative ways to overcome your weaknesses. People respond positively when you can show your own humanness.

Play up your femininity. I have found my own way of selling my work by placing an emphasis on the fact that I am a woman. For instance, when I submit a design to a client, the way it is presented has a feminine style to it. I try to tell the story of the product by showing how I want it to be seen. I am a woman in an industry where women are the main consumers. I try to imagine myself buying whatever product I am designing at the time and that becomes part of my process.

Self-Improvement. I am constantly looking for ways to improve. Whether it is learning new software or honing my skills in presenting, I press to get better. Everyone can work hard, so you must continuously push to get ahead and get noticed. Sometimes you must get out of your comfort zone and take chances. There have been failures in my career, and it is important to reflect on them to learn and grow. I once worked at a company where no one had a title. This made for a very confusing role because there was a lot of overlap between me and someone who thought my job was his. I had to spend time deciphering how to manage each situation with care in order not to create a harsh work environment.

Have (male) mentors. Mentors are so important. You need to have someone as your sounding board. I have had many mentors in my career, and it has been so impactful. For me, having had a male mentor that you can learn from, and grow is imperative to how I have conducted myself in business. Men do things very differently than women, but if you watch and learn from them you can use it to your benefit and make it your own when you are in the same position. I once worked at a company where the CEO would privately check in with me. He knew I had a tough position so he would casually ask me how I was doing to learn whether I needed more support. He would offer his guidance and then let me determine how to proceed on my own. That created a sense of confidence that he believed in me and because he was watching to be sure I was going in the right direction.

Build relationships. We all want to feel connected In my business, I always say that I want to be as important to my client as they are to me. It must be a reciprocal relationship for it to succeed. Building good relationships with colleagues helps us connect. You must work together to make something happen. I had a former colleague reach out to me to design for his new company. He flew me out to meet his team, which created a bit of a competitive environment. But the longer we sat and spoke about projects and experiences, the better the mood became. One year later, my colleague left the company and I had already developed such a positive relationship with their team that we still work together today.

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?

In all honesty, I do not think it matters. It is knowing how to work with all types of people that makes you successful. I have worked with some very difficult men and some very difficult women. If you figure out the HOW (to work together), that is when you have achieved something you can be proud of.

When I was young, my dad enrolled me in co-ed private schools. When I asked him why he did not send me to the all-girls school, he told me that it is because the world does not work that way. It is not all girls or all boys. You must learn to work together when you are young to gain the skills that will help you all throughout your life. Having that message instilled in me at a young age has really helped me throughout my life. Working in a collaborative environment is the best way to work because you can get the best out of people when they are thinking about things from different perspectives.

Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?

In our industry we have two major Markets in High Point, NC, each year. When I first started attending these shows, it was predominately men in suits in the elevators and hallways. Over time, especially with ecommerce coming on strong, I have seen that shift to seeing so many young and fashionable women. Women also have come up the ranks of their companies to make a real impact in our industry. I do not believe women are better than men or vice versa. What I do believe is that if a woman is supported and mentored within her role, then usually she can excel.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment 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 have always been a big fan of Diane Von Furstenberg and her effortless style. After reading her book The Woman I Wanted To Be, I really became a bigger fan because of how she grew her business in the face of adversity. She is a consummate promoter of women.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.