Lane Kathryn Hickey-Wiggins on Being a Woman President and CEO

Lane Kathryn Hickey-Wiggins, President and CEO, D Print

Lane Kathryn Hickey-Wiggins shares her thoughts on observations about being a woman president and CEO in today’s printing industry.

Tell me a little bit about D Print. How would you describe the company to people who aren't familiar with it?

“We are a diverse printer and we have the privilege of being able to work with a lot of different customers. The federal government, so, NASA is somebody that we work with, but we also get to work with small-town mom-and-pop shops on the other side of our business.

“We are a screen and digital printer, and we’ve been in printing since 1939. Obviously, it did not start with me: I am the third generation. Our company has really been diverse and has grown over that time.

“We started as a sign shop and in 1939 a sign shop, was totally different than what a sign shop is now. We have really had to evolve with the times and figure out what's next for us. I know that's high level. On a lower level, we are in what I would call the ‘graphic space.’”

As a woman president and CEO, what specific challenges do you face, or have you faced?

“Interestingly, I don't feel like I've had a lot of challenges. I'm not going to say there haven't been any, but I feel like the one thing that has stood out to me, at least within this industry, is that you don't always get taken seriously when you're a woman.

“I think a lot of times people look at you and they say, ‘Oh, you're just somebody visiting our booth, right?’ Like at the Expo, for example, ‘you're just visiting the booth. I don't really need to give you the time of day.’ But, I don't know if that's necessarily as prevalent as it used to be.

“And maybe that's because I've had the chance to establish myself within the industry over the past, 10-plus years. I think, initially … I don't want to say a male's world, but it felt initially like people didn't want to take me seriously because, number one, I'm a woman, number two, I'm young – when you're a 25-year-old CEO, people don't necessarily consider you I guess experienced.”

Do you think there are any advantages to being a woman in what is a male-heavy industry?

“I don't know. That's a really interesting question. I don't know. When you ask that, I try to think. ‘Okay, What's the positive of being a woman in this industry?’ I think maybe one advantage is that it sets you apart. I'm not special or better than anybody else, by any means. But I think that in a male-dominated industry, being a woman and being at the top is unique. I think you could consider that an advantage. To what end? I don't know. I think it might be one avenue. “

With printing being male dominated, do you believe that is changing any in any way and has the environment for women both in leadership and production changed for the better?

“I struggle with this question because I don't currently see it changing. I see a trend towards ‘how do we recognize the women in the industry? How do we attract women to the industry?’ I think that is absolutely positive and for the better. I think we still have a way to go, is what I'll say for the current environment.

“I see more women, I think, in the leadership side than I do the production side, and certainly now, with the generation that we're hiring. It's really hard to bring people in general. I don't see very many women come in, especially in the production side of things. It's more males, and at least with our equipment, it seems to be a trend toward the male has to operate it.”

Are there any outmoded assumptions you run into as a business leader?

“Yes and no. I think that one of the things that, at least I've found to be true for myself, and I think this is true of any industry, and I don't think this has to do with just printing, is that you can get so involved in your business that sometimes, you can't see the bigger picture.

“And In terms of assumptions, I think it's easy for us to fall into patterns of, ‘Oh, we know what's best because we've always done it this way.’ That's one of the assumptions that has been really limiting because the reality of it is that, especially within printing, you don't know best, and there are so many things that are always changing and evolving. If you sit in the pattern or the assumption of ‘we've always done it this way, it's going to work out fine,’ you're going to be left behind real quick.”

How would you describe your attitude as a business leader?

“Honestly, I've changed over the years. I think I initially started and I wanted to work so hard to prove that I could do everything, and I could be a production person, I could be, a shipping person. I could do whatever, right? Because I thought in my brain that's how you gain respect. That's how you get the people behind you. And now, 12, almost 13 years later, I consider myself more a mentor. And I'm only 35, so I don't feel like I even have the right to use that word. But I feel like I've evolved into ‘I want to coach you, I want to elevate you, and I want to make you the next best version of yourself that you can be, and I also want you to enjoy coming to work,’ right?”

From a professional standpoint, what would you say gets you up in the morning and ready to go to the shop?

“If I'm being completely transparent, I would be lying if I said that I woke up every morning and I wanted to go to work, right?

“I think that there are always challenges that you're going to face when you're running a business. I think for me now, what's most exciting is knowing like, yeah, It's a challenge and that's okay – but it's not insurmountable. So, go freaking figure it out and kick the day's ass. It's really about, how do I take on the day and what am I going to solve.

“And at the end of the day, what am I going to be thankful for? And I don't know if it's the satisfaction of solving challenges or if it's the satisfaction of knowing that, hey, I figured that out and I did that. But I really think the challenges are what drive me.”

And then, conversely, what keeps you up at night, business-wise?

“Probably also the challenges: you wake up at two o'clock or three o'clock in the morning and you say, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn't do this.’ Or, ‘Oh my gosh, let me write this down. I think that's probably what keeps me up at night.

“When the challenges feel too big, that's when I can't sleep or I wake up and I'm like, oh no, what am I going to do? But I always remind myself. Hey, this is an opportunity, it's not a hurdle. You will figure it out.”

You're currently vice chair of Printing United Alliance and on the board of the Women in Print Alliance What value do you think your knowledge and experience bring to those organizations?

“I have been with the Women in Print Alliance since the beginning, and I don't necessarily know that it's value that I bring. I think it's grit and determination, because I want to see more women in this industry, I want to see women excel in the industry, and I want to see them join the industry.

“In terms of the board of the Printing United Alliance, I feel like I've gotten value from it more than I've brought to it. There are so many intelligent, brilliant people that serve on that board, and the diversification and experience that I've gotten from these people is invaluable. I hope they feel the same, and that I bring them some level of contribution.

“Because I joined the board when I was so young, I think it's helped me, for lack of a better term, ‘grow up’ in the printing industry, and really understand the dynamics of the industry and all of the things that I didn't know when I was starting out.”

What advice would you offer other women who are trying to make their place and grow within the industry?

“I would say, ‘Don't be afraid, because that's only going to set you back further. Put one foot in front of the other and go for it, whatever it may be, even if it's, a production level or if it's a leadership level. You are just as good as everyone else in this industry.’

“And I think that you have an advantage that you're coming into a male-dominated industry. Take it and use it and grow with it. I think that anybody can do anything they want to do. I would say that's true for women who want to come in this industry and want to evolve and grow.”

What in your career would you still like to achieve and what do you think it'll take to get there?

“I don't know. I feel like I'm asking my kid, or I'm in my kid's seat, right? When I'm being asked the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

“The truth is, I think that there are still a lot of things that I would like to do. And maybe they're not related to printing. Maybe they are. I have an art history degree from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), and I keep asking myself, ‘How am I going to use that? What am I going to do with it?’

“You could make the long stretch argument that it's related to printing, but it's really not. So, I've said to myself, ‘Do I want to go back to school? Do I want to get a master's in art history? Do I eventually want to be a curator at a museum?’ I don't know. My direct answer would be, I have no idea. My indirect answer would be that I think I can do anything I want to do.”

What do you do to recharge and to help you maintain your focus?

“I need to be better about this. I am not as mindful as I would like to be. I think what I have found to be best for me is giving myself the grace and space to have a moment and to pause. But again, I'm not good at doing it every day. I think being really intentional in your habits and how you treat your day is super important.

“And I think it gives that level of organization so that you don't feel like you're completely overwhelmed, especially when you feel like you've got so many different things going on. So, at the very least, I try to maintain a very strict structure. Not because, I think that it's the best way to be, but because I think that helps me know that no matter what challenge may be ahead or no matter what, a crazy day may be ahead, I've got it figured out. “

Mentorship is very important. You mentioned being somewhat of a mentor, but who was your greatest woman mentor when you were developing your career and why is that person's influence so important?

“I struggle with this question. I think that Marci Kinter (former VP of Government Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance, now retired) was very invaluable to me. She saw potential in me when I think others were just, like, ‘You're another kid,’ right? And she always wanted me to do better. ‘What's next, Lane?’ And she also brought me into the Women in Print initiative.

“And I thought I would answer you and say That my mom was my greatest woman mentor, and maybe she is, but I think Marci had a lot more impact on me than I ever realized. Because she just cared when other people didn't. And I think you don't find people like that every day.

“I don't know, I'm torn. I think Marci is in the running with my mom. And obviously my mom, just to finish out that thought. I grew up wanting to be exactly like her. I wanted to take the world, in my hands and run with it. I think now that I've been doing this for 13 years, I probably feel a little bit differently and I probably wonder why the heck she wanted to do it.”