Architects and Entrepreneurs as Leaders

Architects (and entrepeneurs) are expected to lead diverse groups. Architects have to somehow manage- planners, developers, tenants, contractors, sub-contractors, community groups, city officials and politicians, consulting engineers and many others.

As a leader, you aren't necessarily in a popularity contest- your job, rather, is to make your views, positions and goals popular amongst your broadly defined team.

You should know that there are many people who do not want to be leaders and they don't want to be led either. Many people spend a lot of energy trying to avoid responsibility and covering up their mistakes. I respect people who will first look in the mirror to see of there is anything they can do to improve a situation. Here is a tongue-in-cheek look at avoidance and cya behaviour. Engineers and computer nerds love flow charts- here is a worthy example of anti-leadership behaviour. It is quite a clever strategy for staying out of trouble- it cycles back in on itself. However, this is not the type of effort that put people on the moon and returned them safely to earth.

(To read more about the burdens of leadership, read what I wrote to Brian Suomela, a former entrepreneurship student, who started to notice that there were some negatives to being 'born a leader'.)

You need to be able to communicate well- in public, in meetings, one on one. You need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively and to think-on-your-feet. You need to tell the truth, the smart truth. Always practice and rehearse before a presentation, Verne Chant once recommended. Think things through. If you don't know the answer to a question, say so. Never guess. Say that you will get back to them on that. Never agree to anything without giving yourself a chance for a timeout, Rod Bryden once told me. Say something like: "That sounds reasonable, let me think about it overnight and we'll get together tomorrrow to decide." Give your subconcious a day to mull it over and you'll be surprised at how you can improve things or clarify things that will be an advatage to both sides.

If you can write well, this is a huge advantage. As my PhD thesis supervisor, Max Neutze, told me: "It's the first million words that are the toughest, Bruce." Like most other things, you get better with practice, so practice!

A Vancouver legal secretary was recently awarded the top prize for bad writing (Nationa Post July 11, 2001). Here is her introduction to an imaginary novel:

"A small assortment of astonishingly loud brass instruments raced each other lustily to the respective ends of their distinct musical choices as the gates flew open to release a torrent of tawny fur comprised of angry yapping bullets that nipped at Desdemona's ankles, causing her to reflect once again (as blood filled her sneakers and she fought her way through the panicking crowd) that the annual Running of the Pomeranians in Licechenstein was a stupid idea."

Here are two dozen basic leadership skills that I think you'll need to be successful as an Architect or Entrepreneur:

1. Don't postpone what you can do today to tomorrow.

2. Have a vision and set goals for yourself and your organization. Communicate your vision in a way that engenders hope in all those around you. Hope is the sine qua non* of the human condition. If you look at what keeps people alive in extreme circumstances (such as Nelson Mandela during his nearly 30 year imprisonment), it was the flicker of hope. Sometimes, you can keep a business alive and give it the opportunity to stay around long enough to flourish on not much more than hope alone.

* (Reference.com defines "sine qua non" \sin-ih-kwah-NON\, this way: 'An essential condition or element; an indispensable thing; an absolute prerequisite'. If as a leader you can not give hope to the people around you, they and you are sunk.)

3. Keep your head when all those about you are losing theirs. (Thanks to Rudyard Kilping for this one.) Be calm in a crisis.

4. Be fit in mind and body.

5. Don't drink and think.

6. Don't take drugs.

7. Develop an undertanding of human psychology and an empathy for others and with others. Have a sense of humor. Be kind.

8. Be able to think on your feet.

9. Develop perspective and good judgement.

10. Give everyone (employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders, banks, all stakeholders) feedback both positive and NEGATIVE- communicate! Spread the credit when things go well. Thank people. Surround yourself with great employees, suppliers, financiers, partners, shareholders and customers. Don't associate with negative people. If you're not sure about someone, an employee, a supplier, whatever, you are. Fire them. If you don't trust someone, don't associate with them in any way.

11. Lead by example, don't make snap judgements, sleep on problems and decisions at least once. Protect your personal reputation. Avoid the media limelight.

12. Work hard and always prepare ahead of time. Have the discipline to write down your analysis and your decisions, verbalize them and check them again. You will find ways to make MUCH better decisions if you do this.

13. Pay attention to detail.

14. Check everything and everyone three times.

15. Have a stable personal life.

16. Take care of yourself and your family.

17. Creditor proof yourself so you can focus on the business or organization and have some peace of mind and a clear mind to deal with the issues and problems of the day.

18. Learn to cope with stress (not by drinking or taking drugs or losing your temper or ...). Find a way.

19. When things aren't going well, look in the mirror first; your greatest enemy is staring back at you. You are the biggest impediment to your success. Understand thyself.

20. Don't blame others. Spend as little time as possible on recriminations; focus on the here and now and how to solve the problem. (Be more like Ellen Ripley in the Alien series; she deals with the way things are, not wishing and hoping that things were different. She spends zero energy on thinking about why life is so unfair (for example, to have ugly Alien creatures running after you trying to use as an incubator for their young.)) If something isn't working, admit it and then either stop doing 'it' or change 'it'.

21. Take charge- don't shirk your responsibilities. Never delegate your personal or organization's core competencies. Be available- problems only get worse if you ignore them.

22. Don't give in to the temptation of losing your temper (it's been my great downfall, btw).

23. Be able to resist all manner of temptation (i.e., the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger (!), greed and sloth).

24. Become the Impeccable Warrior (thanks to Carlos Casteneda for this one).

Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, Ottawa, Canada.

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