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If we are being honest with each other, many here would agree with
my college friend who characterized his experiences with clients
as, "I feel like I'm in a cage and they're outside poking me
through the bars with sticks." Because this view is so widespread,
we need to start our discussion of client leadership by trying to
understand why so many of us feel such profound frustration when it
comes to dealing with our clients.
Over the years, I have met way too many architects who, like my
college friend, have lost the joy of architecture. We often feel
disrespected and disregarded. We get frustrated when clients don't
seem to "get" what we’re recommending. And when we experience
these difficulties, we often get down on ourselves. This is not a
good mental state from which to lead effectively.
When we understand why we have these challenges, it's much easier
to work on adapting our natural style to succeed with clients. Many
architects, particularly those in leadership positions, share
similar personality traits. In Myers-Briggs typology, we are often
Intuitive and Judgmental (INTJ). On the DISC scale, we're typically
high on Dominance and low on Influencing.
In plain English, most of us know exactly what we want to do
(intuitive) and how we want to do it (high dominance). We are
impatient with those who think differently than us (judgmental),
and we’re not inclined to work very hard to get people to see
things our way (low influence). These common personality
characteristics are important because they create real roadblocks
for architects who want to become effective client leaders.
But let's assume that you understand and accept these challenges,
and that you still want to lead clients. How do you develop
yourself into an effective leader? Barry Posner and Jim Kouzes have
conducted years of research on leadership. In their book The
Leadership Challenge, they describe four behaviors essential to
effective leadership. With thanks to them, I want to show how these
behaviors relate to client leadership.
1. Model the Way
This means communicating your values and aligning your actions with
those values. This is the “walk the talk” part of client
leadership. Believe it or not, clients will respect you even if
your values are not their values.
The best time to start earning that respect is at the interview.
Instead of trying to tell the client what you think they want to
hear, why not state strongly what you believe architecture should
accomplish, in terms of its impact on the users and the community.
If it becomes apparent that these values don't resonate with the
client, point out the gap and probe for the reasons. Sometimes you
discover that you're more aligned than you thought, sometimes not.
You won't win them all this way but, when you do, the client
relationship will start off on the right foot.
2. Challenge the Process
Many architects of my generation were thrilled by Howard Roark's
fierce independence in The Fountainhead. Of course, in the real
world, design and construction is a team sport and most clients
want team players on their team. But, being a team player
doesn’t mean being a doormat to client whims.
Recently, I was listening to a client talk about renovating a
facility to make it more efficient. Her straightforward approach
was to reduce the sizes of the workspaces. At a pause in the
conversation, I quietly asked how she thought her people would feel
about this downsizing. Her expression became concerned. Finally,
she said, "I hadn't really thought about that! We need to look at
this more thoughtfully and make sure we give people what they need
to do their work." One of the greatest compliments an architect can
get is when the client says, "I would never have thought to do it
this way, but I see now that it was exactly the right thing to
do."
3. Enable Others to Act
Enabling other to act gets to an issue I've heard many architects
gripe about: the loss of our position as "leader of the building
team." In our efforts to manage risk, many of us have become
reluctant, even fearful, to be the leader of the team. That's
unfortunate. In my experience, there aren't many people who can
stay focused on an inspiring vision and simultaneously figure out
how to get it done. However, architects are uniquely qualified and
motivated to keep these two important elements of project delivery
in balance.
Ten years ago, my firm was working on a very complex $35 million
corporate office renovation. Getting all of the client's
constituents to act together was difficult. Without really planning
to, our Principal often found himself facilitating the project
meetings, coaxing reluctant players and mediating disputes. One
day, the client's project executive asked for a private meeting. He
confessed that he didn't feel capable of leading the project to a
successful conclusion, and asked if we would be willing to take
over as manager of the entire project, not just the design. Our
firm got a nice additional service fee, and the client saw their
project completed on time and on budget!
4. Encourage your Heart
This may sound a bit "new age," but it's a proven component of
success. By definition, a leader can't lead without followers, and
you can't expect someone to follow you if you don't appear
confident and optimistic. The 2002 AIA study The Client Experience
noted that when the client starts spending real money on
construction, the architect is usually reducing his presence on the
job. No wonder so many clients feel abandoned by their architect in
their hour of need.
I recall being asked to troubleshoot a large project that was in
construction and behind schedule. True to form, we were running out
of fee and had been understaffing the CA phase. The client was
losing faith in us. I invited him to lunch and laid out a plan to
dedicate a staff member to the project full time, to expedite
construction. He was delighted (and encouraged) to see this change
of attitude on our part. Then I told him the two things I wanted if
we were to be able to complete the project successfully: a good
reference to other clients, and fair consideration of additional
compensation for the increased services we provided. No contract
amendments were executed. This was all about turning the client's
emotional state around, from mistrust to believing in us again. The
project ended successfully. I can't say we were made whole
financially, but we did receive significant additional compensation
and, more importantly, the client raved about our work when giving
interviews and presentations about the project to industry
groups.
Now that you’e read through the bulk of this article learning
HOW to lead clients, you may want to ask yourself WHY you want to
be a client leader in the first place. If you're not very clear
about your reasons, you likely will have a hard time leading
clients successfully, and you will end up feeling like you're in
that cage being poked with sticks.
From my perspective, there are three main goals for any
architectural project:
- A quality design that pleases your staff and that you can use
for marketing
- A quality experience for the client, leading to repeat work
and/or positive references
- A profit for your firm
Achieving these goals does not happen automatically and you must
take proactive steps to lead both the client and the process in
order to be successful. A big part of client leadership is to
achieve as much in each of these areas as possible.
In my experience, few projects satisfy all 3 of the goals listed
above. When one does, I consider that one to be a memorable
project. Meeting 2 of 3 goals means a good project that can be used
to build your business. Meeting only 1 of 3 goals may not hurt your
firm, but neither will it help you grow your business. A 1 goal
project simply consumes resources that could have been deployed
better elsewhere. Meeting 0 of 3 goals means a toxic project that
probably has damaged your firm - these are to be avoided at all
costs!
Next time you’re facing a tough client leadership dilemma,
step back and think about which of the 3 goals your actions will
accomplish. If you achieve number 2, then perhaps you'll receive a
note like this one:
"I had a great moment when I walked onto the site today. I
looked up and said to myself 'I can't believe they're letting us
build this!' Which is to say that I am thrilled by the ambitious
design vision and grateful for the professional skills you have
applied to achieve that vision. I will have anxiety until after
opening day, but I'm glad we're taking this chance
together."
I think most of us would get up pretty early in the
morning every day to earn this kind of feedback from our
clients.
Stephen T. Swicegood, FAIA is Managing Director of Gensler's
75-person Atlanta office. Other firms he has led include Heery
International's London office, and idea|span in Atlanta. He began
professional practice in 1973, after graduating from Auburn
University. He was elevated to Fellow of the AIA in 2004 for
advancing the profession in the area of workplace design.
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