Taking Initiative: ur doing it rong

As I was telling a friend of mine, an architect at a different firm from mine, about my recent posts on initiative and getting hired in a bad economy, he recounted the following actual experience he had at his firm. With his permission, and with a few details changed, he has allowed me to share this as a cautionary tale to my readers.

My friend, whom I'll call Frank, has been managing the design and documentation process on a large project for the past year or so in his office. It's a big enough project that it's kept four to six people decently employed during a time that every other firm in his town is laying folks off. Since early December, there's been so much to do on the construction documents (CDs) on this project that he and the team have been working at least one if not both weekend days in addition to at least 9-hour days on each weekday. Everyone has been working this much...except for one intern, who we'll call Jake. Jake just does 8 to 9 hours a day and goes home, and he's rarely if ever in on the weekends. He finally did come in on the last weekend before the project was due and was in for about four hours. Whoo.

As Frank describes it, Jake is an employee that gets moved from project to project depending on which team needs help getting the work done. Wherever the demand for labor is, that's where Jake gets moved. The problem with this is that because of the semi-transient nature of his time use, Jake doesn't take ownership of anything he works on. For him it's, "I'm doing stuff for them" instead of, "We're working on X" or "I'm part of their team." Jake sees himself as temp help with no stake in the end product, instead of being an important part of a team with a lot at stake. To think that your role is ancillary is to sell everyone short--if the team didn't need the help and this task wasn't important, they wouldn't put you on the project, no matter how brief your role will be; and if your work wasn't at least decent and useful, the firm wouldn't still have you. This kind of attitude can often spill over into how you do your job: it doesn't really matter what I do, so I don't really have to learn that much/check my work/ask questions about how what I'm doing fits into the scheme of things, because someone else who "belongs" on the team is going to check/do/fix it later anyway. Sadly, Jake has fallen victim to this kind of thinking as well. Because of his lack of ownership in his work and his lack of ownership of the projects he works on, having Jake's help is almost like having no help at all.

One great way to take initiative is to care about what you do and how you do it, even when your role on a project seems secondary or even tertiary. When I have been put on projects to help out with one small thing, I have sometimes noticed something that was incorrect or had gone unnoticed and needed to be figured out/dealt with, which is a good thing. Every detail you check out or track down from front to back on a project, as it relates to what you're working on, is one more detail that won't surprise the team out in the field once construction starts. Sometimes, being that peripheral person is a great opportunity, because you're looking at the project with fresh eyes...which is how a contractor and the subcontractors are going to look at the drawings and specs when they receive them. When you see the project fresh and cannot make sense of the drawings or how to build a certain part of the building even after working on the project for a month, then someone in charge needs to know. When you call that to someone's attention, and if you can find a way to solve the problem, then that's taking initiative.

And remember yet again the Boss' Paradox: they don't always remember what you're doing, but s/he knows how well you do it. For Jake, Frank has been the boss for the past few months, and Frank knows how Jake does what he does--it's barely adequate. "If we have to do layoffs after these CDs go out, and anyone asks me about it," Frank told me over a drink on Friday, "I'm going to suggest Jake. He works like he really doesn't care and takes his job for granted, and there are way too many good, unemployed interns out there who would be glad to take his place and do a much better job."

No one likes to work 60-hour weeks for months on end, but sometimes we have to pull those hours for a few weeks and even a couple of months in a row in order to get the job done. But just as importantly (if not more importantly), we have to do our jobs well, consistently well. Especially in a bad economy, it's too easy to be sent away if you consistently don't care about process or product. Don't just take a job or a task--take the initiative to do the best you can on it.

Taking Initiative: a good question from a reader

On the most recent post about taking initiative, Anonymous writes:

For young professionals or architectural interns, what is going on inside architecture firms right now as far as hiring is concerned? I've read articles that said firms are not posting jobs now since they are afraid of receiving hundreds of resumes per opening. I've also read articles that firms can't hire and that unemployment for the architectural profession is 40%-60%. Do you recommend that we keep sending resumes to firms now or wait a few months or change professions?

Good question. First of all, I'd like to know the sources of the articles you read, especially the one about the 40%-60% architectural unemployment rate. My guess is that 40%-60% might be a market-wide number but not an overall profession number. In a recent email to its members, the AIA's national president quoted the national architectural unemployment figure in 2009 as 15%. (I have to wonder if those are AIA member numbers or overall profession numbers.) However, some cities or areas that were hit really badly by the recession (like perhaps Detroit) might be seeing 40%-60% architectural unemployment. It's hard to say. Some firms here in Colorado lost about 10%-15%, like the rest of the nation, while others were hit harder when several projects went on hold at once, or perhaps because they grew during the 2000s and suddenly couldn't keep all of those people billable and busy. And some firms laid off very few if any folks. (Those were usually the really big firms who have offices in several cities.)

Of my 20+ friends and colleagues in architecture who were laid off in the past 18 months, nearly all but about two or three finally have jobs again, though one of them got a job in a different field. Some of them were interns, and some of them were licensed architects. So again, it's hard to say. A pattern I've been noticing is that those who were less likely to get hired by someone were usually older folks who were still not licensed (as in, older than 35). Some of the interns I know who were laid off got gigs with folks who started their own firms, and another that I heard from recently will be going back to grad school in a few more months. (As I've mentioned before, grad school is a good place to ride out a crappy economy.)

But let's say grad school isn't an option for you; either you can't swing it financially, or you've just completed grad school. What now? I posted recently about getting a job as an intern in a bad economy. After you've got a good resume and cover letter together, ask professors or former employers (if you left on good terms) about firms that might be hiring or at least to whom it might be worth sending a resume. While firms may not be hiring, it's not like they're casting aspersions on those who dare send a resume--we all know it's a craptastic economy and that everyone is trying their hardest. It might be worth adding to your cover letter something about "I know you are not hiring right now, but I'd like to send you my resume for when projects pick up--if you will be needing good interns, I can definitely be of service." You can ask for an informational interview, just to get a practicing professional's view of architectural work and the economy, and you can also mention that you are available for contract work if that is desired or preferred in the short run.

The AIA's job board can be somewhat helpful, though at the time of this posting they seem to be looking for more licensed folk than non-licensed folk. But remember, that's just the ones they're posting. The articles you're reading may be right--firms don't really have to post open positions right now because they can either call up the folks they just laid off, or their present employees know someone who's really good and could be brought on board with minimal fanfare. And here's where the news can be good for you: while some firms will call back some of their old employees, they're likely not to call all of them back. With so much labor available--some of it pretty dang good and cheap--they may be willing to take a chance on you. If you have little to no experience, it may be worth their time to hire you because your wage will be low and your learning curve will be pretty sharp.

So, to finally answer your question, Anonymous, it's still worth your time to send out resumes, provided that you do a little research before you start carpet-bombing your town with your paper, and provided that you've tuned that paper up a bit. You may have to work elsewhere for a while before you finally land a job in architecture, but I say that if you really want to do this, you can make it happen.

Taking Initiative: doing what needs to be done

We often hear about how companies like it when employees take initiative--it shows drive and motivation, and it provides value and makes employees valuable, etc. Thing is, I'm not sure if "taking initiative" is ever really defined for working folks in general and new, young professionals in particular. Dictionary.com defines it like so:

–noun 1. an introductory act or step; leading action: to take the initiative in making friends. 2. readiness and ability in initiating action; enterprise: to lack initiative. 3. one's personal, responsible decision: to act on one's own initiative.

These three definitions are all part of taking initiative at work; they are the three components to making a positive change in a workplace or even in your personal life. Ultimately, I boil taking initiative down to this:

Seeing what needs to be done, and then doing it.

Seeing what needs to be done is harder than it sounds. Because they know so little about the architectural workplace right out of school, interns spend the first couple of years just learning the ropes about what you're supposed to do and what the result should be. There's so much to learn that often interns don't even know what question to ask, other than "Hunh?" But after a couple of years (and sometimes, depending on the observation and the firm, even sooner), interns will see things that just aren't working and/or don't make sense. Being on the outside of management has its advantages; because you're not in the fray, you'll watch your managers go through the same panicked rush every time they're getting a proposal out the door, or you'll see them stagger in after a long out-of-town trip to a client, and you'll think that there's got to be a better way.

Perhaps there is a better way, but do a little research first. Ask how your firm does what it does--put together proposals, conduct user group meetings, print check sets and final document sets, etc. Knowing how it's done now can inform your thought process and help you come up with ideas on how to improve something. For example, one intern I know used to get frustrated because his manager was frequently out of the office at out-of-town client and user group meetings. The intern asked his manager if he could attend any of these, and the manager said unfortunately not--the budget was pretty tight, and it could barely afford one person traveling, let alone two. So the intern proposed to his manager that the team conduct online user group meetings for every other meeting. They could either print and overnight some drawings to the clients, and they could look at them and discuss them over Skype, or they could use some online meeting system like GoToMeeting or GoToMyPC and mark up a PDF of the plans while they talked with the client. The intern's manager didn't take his suggestion, but another team in the office did, and they loved the virtual meeting format. It saved them time and money; not only did they not have to travel to the meeting three states away, but as soon as a virtual meeting with one department was finished, the manager could email an intern to say, "The redlined PDF from this meeting is saved in this place on the server, so you can get started making those changes in the plans and elevations."

In the next couple of posts, we'll talk about some case studies of taking initiative. In the meantime, if you have a topic you'd like to see discussed here or a question you'd like to have answered, feel free to let me know in the comments or via email from the sidebar. Thanks!

Three good things: the secret to dealing with everyone, Part 2

Last time we talked about how remembering three good things about everyone you deal with will help when dealing with and confronting them about less-than-stellar behavior. This generally works with folks, but sometimes people can be a little obstinate when others call them on their behavior, or they even get a little snarky or passive-aggressive back at you. While this sort of pushback is understandable--no one likes to be called out--it's still unacceptable. There are a few things you can do to stop cruddy behavior towards you. The first and main thing to remember about bad behavior is that it only works when two people engage in it. If one person is being defensive and passive-aggressive and immature, and the other person isn't falling for it, then the first person isn't going to get very far, are they?

Let's say your project is in Revit, and you need the mechanical engineer's model on Thursday, and it's Tuesday now. Getting models out of this guy has been like getting blood from a turnip, and he generally acts like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed every day since August of 1993. Asking for cooperation can be a great way to disarm cranky people. The first step is to stay polite and positive, focused on the request:

You: Hi, Mac. I'm calling because we're compiling the model to show the client on Friday, so we need your model by 2pm on Thursday.

Mac: Yeah, well, that's not happening.

You: For what reason?

Mac: [annoyed sigh] Cuz it's not done.

You: Well, we're only partway through DDs, so I understand that it's not all completely done. However, we need as much as you can get by Thursday at 2 so we can compile the models and show the client what kind of magic we're working with this software.

Mac: Yeah, well, it ain't gonna be a lot.

You: Every bit that you can do by Thursday afternoon will be really helpful, Mac. These 3D models really help our client understand what we're doing and how we solve problems before they get built, y'know?

The next step is to ask for cooperation through problem solving.

Mac: Yeah, well...we'll see.

You: [politely] Is your model is kinda incomplete or really incomplete, or...?

Mac: Well...[annoyed sigh] you guys keep sending us a new model every week and I can't just remodel this stuff that fast.

You: Ah. So, what's involved in modeling ductwork when it changes, say like in that north end of the lobby where we moved those soffits around?

Mac: Well, [more annoyed sighing] it's just a lot to do, and to change.

You: I imagine it is a lot to change. The reason I ask is that maybe we can prioritize what ducts really need to be modeled by Thursday afternoon, and maybe that's more doable than trying to do everything.

Finally, you can be a little more blunt about asking for cooperation if need be.

Mac: [yet another annoyed sigh] Well, maybe. Look, you can't just call up and ask me to drop everything and get you a model in two days.

You: Mac, I can understand your frustration. It seems like when I call you with a deadline or if I need something, it's really hard for you to get it done. I want to make sure that whenever I call you with a change or a deadline, you have what you need to make that work. So tell me what you need to make deadlines, whether it's this Thursday at 2pm or whenever--what would help you?

Mac would have to be a real schmoe to decide to play hardball with you at this point. You're flat out asking for what would help him, which I bet no one asks him very often. And speaking of hardball, you can use polite hardball when someone is making cranky comments under their breath or acting really immaturely.

"Mac, it sounds like you don't like my idea--what is it about it that you think won't work?"

"Wow, Mac, that sounded like a dig at me--did you mean it that way?"

"Y'know, Mac, it seems like the morning of every major deadline we've had so far, you're out of the office until a couple of hours before the time it's due. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Today's communication skills were adapted from the book Civilized Assertiveness For Women: Communication With Backbone...Not Bite by Judith McClure, Ph.D. It's a great book, and though it's aimed at women, the communication skills Dr. McClure (an educational psychologist) developed and writes about are perfectly good for both genders to use, and it's on Amazon and Barnes & Noble's website as well. I'm still working on a couple of deadlines right now, so there may be a gap in posting for the next few days. In the meantime, if you have a question you'd like to ask or a topic you'd like to see discussed here, feel free to post it in the comments or to email me in the sidebar. Thanks!

Three good things: the secret to dealing with everyone, Part 1 else

You've just been put on a project team with that guy who surfs the web all day; great, there goes your weekends, because you know you'll be having to do all of your redlines and half of his, too. You've been assigned to help your boss put together a presentation for a project interview; pass the Advil, because that gal cannot stop changing her mind twenty times a day about the font and cannot resist micromanaging your Photoshop work. You pass on word to your consultants that the deadline for CDs will be moved three days earlier; oh boy, here comes the complaining and struggling to get drawings from one of the consultants, who's been a pain from day one. How are you supposed to get anything done with these people around you? How can you possibly confront them about their cruddy behavior when a) they don't seem to be aware of it or disturbed by it, regardless of how it affects you?

Confrontation is inevitable in the workplace, but it doesn't have to be confrontational. What binds us all more than our race, gender, generation, political outlook, or anything else is our species--our humanity. We all want to be liked and respected, we all want to belong and to get along, and we all want our efforts to be appreciated. It seems that appreciation and respect are frequently missing in the workplace, especially in this economic climate. It's easier to look for flaws and then use those flaws as a way of thinning the herd--of colleagues, employees, consultants and vendors, etc. Appreciation and respect feel like afterthoughts, or even signs of weakness. But consider the power of showing that respect to others. Consider the power of acknowledging someone's contributions. And consider the power asking for cooperation rather than taking someone to task. Rethinking that power--power to, but not power over--is the least frustrating way to get things done not just on a project but in life in general.

The first step to finding this power is to think of three good things about everyone you deal with. This can be hard at first, especially when dealing with the really difficult people in your office or on your team. Sometimes, you may have to ask someone else to help you come up with someone's good traits. Sometimes, one of those traits ends up being "s/he showers regularly and comes to work dressed like an adult." Fair enough--as long as it's a positive characteristic that you can honestly say applies to that person, then it counts.

There are two reasons to come up with three positive traits: one, it helps to ground and remind you that you're dealing with a person and not an evil demon from the third ring of Purgatory; and two, it gives you a way of balancing what you need to change with someone with what you like and depend upon in this person. Some communication experts call it the Compliment Sandwich: "Kelly, it's really helpful that you get your redlines done so quickly--it really makes this project go faster. However, there have been some mistakes in your work recently. Give yourself a chance to check through them once more before you reprint your sheets, and I know that it'll ultimately make you and the project even faster." Whatever you call it, it gives you a way of connecting with Kelly (or whoever), presenting the situation as something that's solvable, and then showing how it will help them and you (or the team) once it's corrected.

I'm working on a couple of deadlines at the same time, but the next post will talk more about using three good things to deal with others as well as how to ask for cooperation and to play polite hardball with really obnoxious people. In the meantime, if you have a question you'd like to ask or a topic you'd like to see discussed here, feel free to post it in the comments or to email me in the sidebar. Thanks!

A visual break

Folks, I appreciate the emails and comments I've been getting lately. Remember that this site is built on your input, so keep 'em coming!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a neat little site with you. As I'm working towards a couple of deadlines right now, posting may be a little short here for a week or so, but I'm enjoying the Photo Bludger, a photo-a-day blog from a pretty talented fellow here in Denver, my adopted hometown. What makes the images even more interesting is that he explains how he takes the photos (camera, settings, software tools, etc.).

Lulu's Mailbag: Are layoffs just about business?

Yes, another heapin' helpin' of the Mailbag this week, coming from A, an engineering intern who has some observations that are relevant to architects as well:

Hi Lulu,

I was just reading your article - "It's better to be laid off than laid on" and I feel you have done a great job in explaining lay offs. I could relate to may things that you said in that article, although I am an engineering student -- not an architect.

I have done 3 internships so far. My first internship was an experience that I will cherish always. My second internship was at a very well reputed firm, under a very high profile boss. That internship was the worst experience I have ever had in my career and it really shattered my confidence. I don't know if it was 'less than awesome' performance from me or whether it was poor management on part of my boss or both, but at the end of my internship I was given negative feedback and told that I won't be given another chance to either intern or work in that company. That, after having been told that they are considering employing me full time (one month before the feedback) and that I'm doing a fantastic job(10 days before my feedback was given). I don't know if I somehow managed to irritate my boss in the last ten days or whether it was genuinely due to performance reasons ( I know that I did my best, but I didn't have the skills necessary to do an awesome job). I moved on and did an internship in another company in another specialization and was given good feedback on my work, but I still can not get over what happened to me in my second internship. I am looking out for jobs now and I find it hard to get myself to study or talk about what I worked on in my second internship though it is crucial that I study it. I also find it hard to be enthusiastic about working under a lady, because it was a lady who was so ruthless with me on that internship.

I don't know why I am writing to you, but your blog helped me understand that I shouldn't take things personally and that everything is about business. I know that is very sensible advice, but my experience has made me realize that it is not very easy to follow.

Regards,

A

Hi A!

Thanks so much for dropping me a line. You make a really good point about layoffs. The people that go in the early rounds are often the ones that, in the eyes of management, don't "fit" with the culture of the firm. It's very possible that some folks at your office thought you were doing great, but the people in charge of hiring and firing thought otherwise. I have to wonder if your boss' management of you (and other interns and staff in general) was to blame, especially if you have little experience in architecture. I have personally witnessed this phenomenon: an intern who would benefit from good teaching and guidance gets paired with a manager who is a poor teacher (they need well-trained staff because their poor people skills make it tough for those new to the field to relate and feel comfortable asking questions). Then, the intern gets laid off or fired in great part because someone who isn't a very patient manager says "this person is slow and terrible!" It's a really unfair situation, and I'm betting there's at least some of that in your situation (though to be fair, I don't know all the details).

You're absolutely right; layoffs aren't personal (and you're also right that it's hard to accept that, especially when we put so much of ourselves into our professions and our work). Layoffs are partly a personality/culture decision, but they're mostly a financial decision. And working for women can sometimes (but I assure you not always) be difficult--some women aren't comfortable with a leadership role, and they either choose being a steamroller or a doormat as their management style, when there's no need for either kind of behavior. When asked about your second internship, it's best if you can find any technical or other experience that you gained and then highlight that. If asked why you were let go, your best response is "My understanding is that it was a financial decision" and leave it at that. Let that firm have its bad karma all for itself--don't go spreading it around. After your coworkers at you new firm get to know you better, then you can be a little more honest.

My best to you in your job search. Keep looking--we need good, bright people in architecture and engineering to make sure our professions stay solid, relevant, and excellent.

Take care,

Lulu