AIA Leadership Summit cont’d

Now, everyone knows the current workplace generations, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, Gen Z, right? Each one has a distinct vision in their head. So, let’s get back to the summer you remember so fondly, why is it important? The definition of a generation is an era of shared experiences defined by the formative years (teenage to young adult), as Kim Lear noted in her keynote Multi-Generational Trends in the Profession, those social experiences start to lay the foundation for how we function in office and as leaders. For anyone left questioning, I am a Millennial, best defined by technology and violence which has made us collaborative, empowered, and in search of meaning. That is not to say that everyone is their generation, but the truth is we do learn from our environment—at least as architects—that’s what we hope people do. Understanding the society that people grew up in, can start to inform how we interact with each other. However, to be a truly effective leader we should be more generationally bilingual, not only to work within project teams, but to be able to effectively recruit new talent.

A question that came out of a few of the sessions that I participated in was do I create safety? We all know the feeling of having to pause, and collect our thoughts when a sudden alarm interrupts us, when an individual is not in a safe space their brain reads the environment as a series of these breaks causing psychological noise distracting them. Therefore, one of the key aspects of leadership is creating a safe space through a sense of caring, honest communication, and accountability. Leadership is not management. Leadership is not a job title; a leader is an individual who can influence others to take a positive action towards a shared goal. Whether that person is an exec or the new designer or the admin, a leader must be authentic, be willing to be vulnerable, though none will be perfect all the time.