Women Of The C-Suite: Dena Mayne of Ergotron On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive
Don’t take things personally. People just communicate differently, and this mindset shift will spare you a ton of unnecessary stress. This continues to be my biggest area for improvement and something that is a work in process.
As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dena Mayne.
Dena Mayne joined Ergotron in July 2020 as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. An accomplished, results-focused strategist, Mayne oversees strategy development and execution of Ergotron’s global marketing and innovation initiatives.
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 “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was raised in a small town — on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. We didn’t have a ton of resources growing up and it certainly wasn’t a given, or even expected, that I’d go to college. The career opportunities for a kid in a small town in Wisconsin were limited, and I knew from a young age that I wanted to do something different.
At 19 years old, I got my first job at 3M as a secretary. My manager there was an inspiring leader and mentor who encouraged me to go to college. He said that I participated in his team meetings as if I was one of his managers and having a degree would likely help both myself and others see me the way he did — as a leader. That was a huge turning point for me. I went back to school and got my degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing. While I was in school and working at 3M, I became more and more enamored with business. I was particularly fascinated by the ways that companies succeed (or fail) to keep their focus on the customer, and that passion for customer intimacy has made my career in marketing an exciting and ever-evolving adventure.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Joining a new company in the middle of a pandemic was an interesting challenge. When I started working at Ergotron in July of 2020, most of the company had been working remotely for months. I had to build relationships with Ergotron’s senior leadership team, the marketing team and my other colleagues virtually. And, of course, the pandemic has created unique challenges for the business and has been stressful for everyone.
However, rich connections can happen virtually, and we’ve experienced it. For example, we held a day-long virtual “offsite” at the end of last year, and it was an overwhelming success. With some thoughtful planning, we were able to create a day that helped to foster connections among the team and prioritized fun while still working on the problems we need to solve.
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?
While many of us are currently working from home, when I first started at Ergotron I went into the office a few days a week. While I was setting up my office space, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why my monitor was not working. Before asking for help from IT, I spent hours working on it myself, calling my husband and asking a friend. I finally had to call IT and to my surprise, it wasn’t plugged in correctly. Not my brightest moment.
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?
My grandma had a big impact on my life. She grew up during the Great Depression and was shaped by that experience. She was fiercely independent and as an adult, she always had a job and was the breadwinner in her family, which was uncommon during that time. She taught me the value of self-sufficiency, and that wife and mother are not the only roles women can aspire to. While I was in high school, I lived with my grandma and I was also a teller at the local bank. I would go to her house during lunch and her first question always was, “How hard have you worked today and what did you accomplish?” She instilled in me a sense of pride in working hard.
Additionally, throughout my career, I have been incredibly fortunate to have been mentored by several colleagues. The generous coaching, honest feedback and encouragement I’ve received over the years has been invaluable.
In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?
In the virtual world we’re all currently living in, it has become harder to step away from work. I think it’s so vitally important for all of us to give our brains a chance to slow down. For me, journaling is an important practice. It helps me get all the thoughts that are swirling around out of my head and down on paper, and that helps me tremendously with clarity.
Good physical health can also encourage good mental health. I’m a big proponent of exercise — anything from taking a walk to a vigorous workout. It is so helpful when your brain quiets down and your body takes over. My biggest win was adding a laptop holder to my treadmill so that I can walk while I work or participate in meetings. I have found this to be an effective way to focus while relieving tension or stress.
I also get tremendous value from discussing what’s going on with trusted family or friends. Being able to bounce my ideas off people helps me formulate my thoughts and gain clarity.
As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?
Diversity is vital at all levels of an organization and the executive team is no exception. It’s difficult for a homogenous group of any type to have the different backgrounds, personalities and experiences needed to see and understand all the different ways to solve problems. When members of leadership teams come from a similar background or have similar personalities, it can be easy to fall into “group think,” which can lead to missed opportunities and a resistance to challenging the status quo. Furthermore, if leaders don’t have a clear understanding of the day-to-day experiences of the team responsible for moving the business forward, that disconnect can have a real impact on employee engagement, retention and overall business success. We all have much to learn from the life experiences of others and that exchange of knowledge makes all of us so much more powerful. Additionally, our customer base is diverse, so the more diverse our employees and leadership team are, the more we’re able to understand and connect with our customers.
As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.
Embracing the differences we all have as people is where it starts. The more we understand that we all benefit by honoring the different life experiences of others, and that we all have something to learn from and teach each other, the better off we’ll be. For example, fostering a diverse employee base has clear benefits to the customer. Different employees might have perspectives that closely align to various customer profiles. When we’re able to better see the world from the point of view of the customer, we’ll be able to create better solutions for them.
This came to life for me when I started traveling and spending a significant amount of time in other countries. Being immersed in another culture quickly taught me how sheltered my point of view and life experiences truly were. Once I started traveling, I saw the world through an entirely different set of eyes and started to recognize how much bigger the world was. It was through this realization that my passion to spend more time in different countries, cultures and communities grew. Being curious and seeking to understand others became core to who I am and something that I think is vital for any leader.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
Early in my career, there was a flood in the corporate center and we had to take the stairs to our floor instead of using the elevator. My cube was on the 12th floor which made for a long climb. One morning, as I started my daily climb, I realized that the CEO was right in front of me. He sensed my presence behind him, slowed his pace and said, “walk with me.” During our walk, he initiated a conversation and asked who I was, what was my role, what did I think of the company direction, and what did I think of his leadership. He truly wanted my opinions. During that climb, he encouraged me to share my ideas with my own leader, to trust my instincts and voice my opinions. This is the role of an executive: to inspire, encourage, and listen. And, of course, to deliver business results.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?
Many executives are assumed to be only financially motivated and lack genuine concern for teams and individuals. This is not the case. Many leaders spend their days focused on their teams by helping remove barriers and creating spaces for success. Currently, our team is working on a massive initiative to merge a store and website into one experience and capability. This is a large undertaking and the team is up against many obstacles. I make sure to spend time in workshops and individual meetings to understand their challenges and help build the case for resources or help navigate needs from other functions and teams that will enable success. My role is to listen, encourage and remove barriers.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
It is tricky to generalize too much on this topic, but if we look at the way women and men have historically been socialized, these two groups are encouraged to adopt different behaviors and characteristics. As adults, this translates into different perceptions of the same actions. For example, a man who communicates directly and pushes decisively toward a vision or goal is seen as a strong leader. He’s praised for being aggressive. A woman who behaves similarly may also be seen as aggressive, but it works against her. She’s viewed as difficult or hard to work with. Male leaders who are fired up about a topic are perceived as passionate. Fired up women are seen as being emotional. Assigning these narrow windows of acceptable behavior for women and men costs all of us. Neither group is permitted to fully express, or even develop, the full spectrum of human emotions or to show up in their lives as their full, authentic selves.
Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
I’ll go back to the story of the CEO who slowed his pace to walk and talk with me in the staircase. It was at that moment that I said to myself, I want to be like him, and to have the wisdom, charisma and care to lead and encourage others. Over time, that desire continued to grow and was reinforced by other inspirational leaders and mentors. It comes back to the passion to want to listen, encourage and remove barriers. This might sound easy, but it’s not, and it requires perseverance, patience, confidence in knowing you can make an impact.
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
As I started to grow in my career, there was a point where I thought the only way to succeed or win was to mimic the characteristics of those around me — mostly men, mostly well educated.
One day my boss (and one of my greatest mentors) called me into his office and asked, “Dena, why do you pretend to be someone else when in groups? I spend time with you one-on-one and think, there is someone who knows what to do, then I see you in group meetings and you are someone else entirely. The reason I hired you is because you bring something special, unique — something that will leave an impact on the team and business. Don’t lose that by trying to be someone you aren’t.”
It took me a while to digest what he was saying. I wasn’t being me and he was telling me it was okay to be me. In fact, it was better than okay — it was needed. Often, as leaders and as women, I think it’s vital that we avoid the pressure to show up as someone we’re not. In the corporate world, women may see more men leading and start to believe that the only way to succeed is to adopt what are perceived to be more masculine traits. It’s crucial for women to see other women succeeding while being true to themselves.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the impact of those who took the time to coach and encourage me. I want to pay that back by doing the same for others. I really enjoy connecting one-on-one with people and helping them see what they didn’t know was possible, particularly within themselves.
I volunteer with a local organization called Women Venture that helps female entrepreneurs succeed, and I really enjoy coaching and mentoring women in that program. I also helped my husband build a business from the ground up. I strongly believe that more women building businesses, running companies and leading teams will have a powerful positive impact on the world.
What are some things you wish you’d been told before you started your career and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
No one has all the answers. Earlier in my career, I assumed that senior leaders and their smart teams knew everything. Now I understand that we’re all constantly learning and growing.
Seek out mentors — they’re invaluable. My first mentor encouraged me to go to college and that was a pivotal moment in the start of my career. Everyone needs a mentor, no matter what their title is.
Don’t take things personally. People just communicate differently, and this mindset shift will spare you a ton of unnecessary stress. This continues to be my biggest area for improvement and something that is a work in process.
Share your authentic self and what makes you uniquely you. I truly believe in the impact of authenticity — it’s a superpower.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
The beauty of our world today is that you don’t have to travel great distances to be exposed to different cultures, communities and lifestyles. By embracing the power of technology you can broaden your views and social network. This alone could create opportunities to see the world through someone else’s eyes and understand that we all wish to be valued and appreciated for who we are.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I believe that compassion and empathy are vital for skillful leadership. Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, stated this clearly:
“One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.”
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 would love to meet other executive women who have their own stories of trials and successes as they’ve become leaders in the corporate world — a traditionally male-dominated space. I have always had a dream of putting together a book that highlights these stories, to give our male colleagues deeper insight into our experiences and to help future women leaders learn from our successes and mistakes.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Women Of The C-Suite: Dena Mayne of Ergotron On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.