We all have fears. Sometimes they’re warranted and sometimes they loom larger in our minds than in reality. We make up stories that excuse us from leaping, trying something new and taking us out of our comfort zone. They might include the fear of failure, of being wrong, appearing foolish or being an imposter. For most if us the fears don’t go away, we just manage them better with practice. We might learn to dance with our fear or reframe it as something to be welcomed, recognising that it means we’re trying new things, stretching ourselves and growing. In some cases we might hide from fear by telling ourselves stories that misdirect or excuse.
The architecture profession is no different when it comes to fears. I’ve previously written about The stories architects tell themselves. If you read through them you’ll see they’re stories allowing the teller to hide and typically an excuse not to do hard, uncomfortable or challenging work. Many of these fears relate to an aspect of practice that is not being addressed, the hard work done. Here’s a few areas of practice, in no particular order, that are holding some architects, and the profession, back.
Marketing
Marketing is a broad topic, that might be broken down into smaller parts. Keeping it general, it suffices that there’s many architects fear putting themselves out into the world to promote their practices. It’s uncomfortable. It feels too commercial. It’s inauthentic. It’s not necessary. At a broader level, the promotion of the profession, in many cases it’s a fear of leadership, of looking foolish or attracting ridicule.
Alternate ways of practice
I see many practices struggling with a form of practice that’s not for them. It doesn’t entirely suit their interests or particular skills. Wrestling with a default architectural practice with unchanged factory settings.
Experimenting with offering different the scope or service or entirely different services is scary. There’s fear they might not work, they’re unfamiliar or they don’t seem to align with the standard perception of practice. An alternative form, model or way of practice untried. Clients come to architects for their unique home, if they wanted the default they might choose a project home. Instead they likely want something that is bespoke and their forever home. Architects should similarly ask what Your forever architecture practice looks like.
Trying to do it all
There are two different threads to an architect doing it all. Doing all the work of practice themselves and doing all the projects (and building typologies) they can. Some do one or other, some both.
Architects are adept at a breadth of skills unsurpassed in the majority of professions. Such is their skill many choose to try to do everything. Manifesting as micromanagement, and control [freaks] with a fear of delegating and letting go. Distracting them from the work they do best and drawing them into work they’re either inexpert in or are better done by someone junior. Whether it’s work on the practice or in the practice, they don’t have to do it themselves. I’ve written previously, You need help.
Taking on numerous building typologies, might come from a reasonable position of desire and interest. It might also come from a place of fear in limiting work prospects. A fear that by focusing on one narrow market they might not win enough work. There’s risk here in that they will not win work on the basis of generalisation rather than clear and defined expertise. A case of jack of all typologies and master of none. It’s usually best to focus on building a clear and defined expertise, before trying to do it all (or at least more).
Being more businesslike
(This section connects directly back to the previous one. It’s not beholden on architects to run the business side of practice themselves, they might instead have someone do it for them.)
Architecture is a business. And architecture as business, and the skills required, is not taught at university. This however does not negate that architecture is a business. It might be that architects are willing to forego more profit in favour of job satisfaction but at the very least they need to sustain their practice (a business). Otherwise they will not have a business or a practice.
It’s perceived as being not the domain of the creative or that design design trumps all else in practice. Many architects prefer to spend as much time as possible on the delivery of their projects, often at the cost of other parts of their practice. Business is uncomfortable, unfamiliar not the natural element of creatives and often avoided. It’s a form of hiding. Hiding from the the business of practice, and where there’s hiding there’s fear.
Status Quo
This is an all encompassing concept. Rather my specified aspect of practice, pick any aspect that might have value in being rethought but remains resolute instead. It’s the fear of change. A common fear not unique to architects. Most people prefer to accept and maintain the status quo than face change or even drive it. There’s an opportunity cost in the status quo. Of not finding new ways of practicing, new markets, new ways of working, new edges, new opportunities or new perspectives.
Losing projects
Of all the fears here this is perhaps the most relatable. The pressure to have work in the office drives the fear of losing or not gaining projects. This fear is very real. It’s a fear of not being able to feed the employees, the practice and frankly the psychological need to feel valued and needed. Leading to taking on projects for the sake of the project, of having work, but there’s consequences. It might be a questionable project, ethically, philosophically, or something else. The poorly chosen project can impact office morale, through tedium, a difficult client or a terrible brief. The worst scenario is when a bad project prevents the office taking on projects they’d love to do or it compromises projects they already have.
Feedback
This is a nuanced and complex area that I thought I might throw in despite not having a more fully formed assertion.
Good feedback makes architecture better. Yet architects could be better at giving and receiving feedback. People fear giving feedback because of how it will land. Fearing giving feedback to superiors lest they’re perceived as wrong, foolish or insubordinate. Giving feedback to equals or those more junior is feared lest they offend. People fear receiving feedback as they don’t want to hear they’ve done wrong, failed or perhaps that they’re not as good as they thought they were. Feedback is the best way to make things better.
Leadership
Sometimes to lead it’s necessary to stand out. If you don’t want to stand out, you’ll need to fit in and by fitting in, you’ll never change anything. It’s not the only way to lead but it’s one that takes courage.
Conclusion
No doubt there’s more fears holding back architects and the profession. It’s not necessary to identify them all. What is necessary is to identify when it’s fear holding the profession back. To notice when the story being told is a way of hiding from fear. That’s the first step. The next step is to become more courageous, to begin to master the fear, to dance with it. I’ll address this in my next post.
Picture by Plato Terentev on Pexels
