I’ve been following up on some past blogs and comments and I’ve realized we’ve missed harping on one of my core values. This concept of “ego,” which is probably the one thing that is most central to how my firm works with our engineers, our clients, and the contractors, is that we try very VERY hard to not let any egos get in the way of what we do.
I am fortunate in that sense. Being a woman in this profession, it’s never about the male game: “NaNaNaaNaa BooBoo, I’m taller than you are.” After all, that is rather childish. And the term “team building” is overused and becoming hallow of late.
I truly believe three things regarding ego:
- Everyone wakes up in the morning wanting to do good.
- Contractors, evil engineers, or building inspectors don’t intentionally “have it in” for a particular project.
- The full project team (owners, architects, engineers, contractors, etc) want to see the project through to a happy completion and functional use.
So, is this “team building”? Is it unique to me? Likely not. My architect colleagues/friends have called me “a connector.” I have developed a sense of joy and love for my profession that goes beyond the chest pounding “Look what we did here. Look what we did there. Look what we will do for you.” Before you know it, you’ve we-we-weed all over yourself. Rather than saying, “Look what I did,” I find myself marveling at “Wow, how cool is that? Look at all those people having a good time.”
What does this matter? It’s based in common sense, something that is harder to find these days. What other aspects of “what’s a good way to get things done” can you share?
—Lisa Stacholy, AIA
Comments (3)
Here's another question for dear readers; when an owner has multiple contracts with a variety of disciplines, thinking they are saving money (of markup/management fee in lieu of single-sourcing all) and the owner can't manage to coordinate the work, how can all work together to still have a good project without the inevitable "I told you so" resulting as the last word? ;(
Posted by Lisa Stacholy | October 12, 2009 10:32 AM
Posted on October 12, 2009 10:32
I'm surprised you chose to make the engineers evil. Shouldn't the contractors be considered the evil ones :-). Just kidding contractors - no offense!
Posted by Tom Fallon | August 31, 2009 8:24 PM
Posted on August 31, 2009 20:24
Related to your third bullet point:
It's always a pleasure working with designers who practice the "design team" approach where problems are resolved and solutions found without owner intervention. Too often we see a group of individual professionals - each contracted with the owner to provide their piece of the puzzle.
Ultimately the project owner just wants a completed job - HOW we get there shouldn't be the owners' weekly worry.
Posted by CivilGuy_DC | August 27, 2009 8:12 AM
Posted on August 27, 2009 08:12