Leaders as Architects

A handful of family and friends may remember my early aspirations to study architecture. Throughout my junior and senior high school years I passionately pursued my interest in designing buildings, even participating with a group of classmates to create and build a scale model house as a class project. Penn State University was the destination of choice to prepare for my lifetime career.

There are many reasons why this dream remains unrealized but that’s not the reason I'm sharing this story. Instead I want to consider the architect role leaders need to play within organizations. In many ways my unfulfilled dream of designing buildings has been replaced with an equally important role of designing the systems that will allow employees to flourish. Let me explain.

Success in any enterprise often rests on the pillars of organization, management, process, and culture. Yet few managers and leaders acknowledge and develop these four areas simultaneously. In fact, the importance of culture is widely ignored when mergers or acquisitions are considered. The new company that emerges may have streamlined expenses but often at a human cost outweighing any perceived benefits.

A variety of books and articles have touted the value of engaging employees yet very few leaders seem to know how this works in the real world. Instead of truly listening to employees and incorporating their ideas into process improvement, leaders often create bureaucracies that stifle the very insights they hope to hear.

That’s where the concept of leaders as architects makes sense. Architects are the chief builders during a construction project. They must question their client extensively to understand the needs and requirements for the project. Architects coordinate the various roles within their design team as the project takes shape. Later they advise the general contractor while the building is being constructed. In each of these roles the architect enables others to operate at a high level while they ensure that the overall project vision is fully realized.

If leaders behaved like architects they would spend more time assessing the needs of employees and clients. They would know how to assign project team roles to the persons best suited to carry them out. As leaders they would spend less time actually constructing their personal empires and more time designing systems that would allow everyone in the organization to contribute their very best effort each day. The architect leader would leave a legacy of simplicity, where processes and standards are followed. It would be a place where everyone felt like they belonged, a place where the mission was clear and easy to understand.

Perhaps my early interest in architecture has found a new home in my current role as a leadership development trainer and coach. I may not be designing innovative homes and towering skyscrapers but that doesn’t mean my work is any less important. Plus, I can do it all without a slide rule or calculator.