Messy Teams

Originally published on my other blog.

Traditionally, I don't delegate well. But in the last few years, I've come to understand how that can hurt me; primarily, if I'm not willing to let go of things I don'tlike, I'm not able to do the things I dolike. This is a eureka realization in my 4th decade on Earth. You don't have to delegate everything or anything - but if you delegate the tasks that you DON'T LIKE, you have more time for the tasks you DO LIKE.

When I think of delegating the stuff I'm not good at and don't like, it's much easier to let go of it. It's also easier to look around me and see those people who have complementary skills sets. Hey! Look! You are different from me! Let's be a team! You do this! I'll do that!It changed my perspective when I realized that delegation didn't have to be about overseeing someone else or letting go of stuff I loved, it could be about allowing someone else to shine at something he or she was good at. It could benefit both of us.

Delegation at its best, is teamwork.

On the other hand, there's still something to be said for choosing your path and following it through until the end. Sometimes doing the thing you want to do, DOES involve some parts that you don't like – and you have to do those not-fun parts anyway, you can't delegate! – and the privilege of doing the not-fun parts is that often you earn (or are defaulted) the right to do the fun stuff. Follow through is also about respect. If you've been there and done that, and if every single time you show up, then you earn trust from everyone: clients, consultants, contractors, and most importantly, your fellow colleagues. It's hard to build trust and respect if you don't show up. It's also hard to feel like everyone is part of the team when one member of the team is prone to walking away easily, delegating flippantly, or limiting their contribution.

In architecture, for most architects, the fun stuff typically comes in the form of design. In my 20 years in architecture, I have seen many architects who consider themselves designers attempt to do only the fun design stuff in the preliminary phase of a project, just to see their design intentions destroyed when they stopped showing up – and started issuing directives – for the boring stuff. Guess what?

There's still design in that last stretch and if you're not there, yes, someone else will take care of it.

For me, that now means that the question of design in architecture is really two complex sentiments. (A decade ago, I would have told you that the solution to good design is that you have to do it all yourself.) But now, finally, I think I am beginning to understand that great design is 1) that you follow through and give your all to a team and 2) you have to think of delegation as teamwork - and use it to make better design.

This week, with the death of Robert Venturi, I find myself thinking about teamwork in architecture – and the messiness of it – quite a bit. I was lucky to work in the offices of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. In those days, it was not just Bob and Denise (for whom the the firm is named) but Steve Izenour as well. It's taken a long time to absorb the lessons learned in that office. At the time, I was so young. The office was prestigious, but not cool. I couldn't appreciate the complexity of the work, because I still wanted simple, black and white answers from both life and from my architecture.

However, as time has gone by, my perspective has changed. With reflection, it would be remiss not to mention the amazing amount of collaboration and teamwork that went into the projects in the office,  All three principals brought such different perspectives and strengths to the firm. While they each managed their own projects, the diversity of the VSBA portfolio was really defined by the synergies of their three very different perspectives. Like a fine, aged wine, not only has the firm's design work grown on me, but so also has the ethos of the office during my time there.

The other day, I was explaining to a colleague what was involved in detailing the millwork for the VSBA project that I worked on, and my current colleague exclaimed, "I bet the firm didn't make any money!" Well, I have no idea about that. But the firm did produce work that was thoughtful and extraordinary and the sense of teamwork  and comaraderie was really, truly notable. And, I think, if I had the option to choose again, I would choose VSBA over a enormously profitable but highly dysfunctional office any day of the week. And if I were a client, I would absolutely pick the office with the team ethos to design my project over an office that acted like a lean, mean machine.