Making a Case for Young Leadership

Ms. Marlow is an Architect with over 20 years of experience across the Retail, Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Hospitality, and Multi-Family sectors. Before her work at CSM, she was Director of Architecture for SitelogIQ, an Architectural Property Development manager at BestBuy, and has had positions at several local Minneapolis Architecture firms. She has worked with internal and external Construction teams and managed projects through all construction phases. Throughout her career, she has worked on setting and maintaining company standards to reduce issues related to project documentation. Ms. Marlow serves on the State of Arizona Enforcement Advisory Committee and is a registered architect in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Colorado.

Through this article, Marlow highlights the need for a balance between the reliance on history and process and the pursuit of progress within the architecture industry.

I want to argue for a change in how we approach leadership as an industry. It’s a topic that isn’t comfortable for a lot of people. What I have found in my career is that leadership is an incredibly personal process. It’s not like sitting down to work in Revit, where the same result can pop out for everyone with the right set of standards. Every leader is different, and I will say personally that I strive to lead in a way that reflects how I want to be led. This is the people side of how you lead, what you want to put out into the world, and how you interact with those on your team. On the flip side of that coin is the side of leadership that is more functional and operational. Both sides are necessary, and the functional/operational side is what we’re going to look at here.

If you go into any office or firm, you’ll be met with three distinct groups: senior leadership, leadership, and the do-ers. Senior leadership in the Architecture industry has an amazing wealth of knowledge to draw from, and this group has traditionally been with companies and firms for decades. They’ve ridden out leadership changes, the highs and lows of the markets, and are in well-deserved leadership positions. We all know them and (if you’ve been paying attention) have learned from them. Generationally, and I include myself in this, the next group of leaders came into the industry at a point in time when shifting between markets and shifting between jobs was seen as a benefit. It lent to being wellrounded and eliminated the fear of being “pigeonholed” early on in one’s career. We don’t seem to have as much reliance on processes that are sometimes decades older than we are, but we also didn’t learn to thrive in the industry during the latest technology boom. Then, there is the youngest group in the industry. They are brimming with excitement; they want to go and see and do, and better yet, they’re filled with fresh ideas.

There is much to be learned from the generation that has been working in the field for decades. The immense amount of knowledge there should be celebrated, tapped, and utilized to its fullest. We’ll all be better professionals if we learn from those who came before us. What I think we’re lacking as an industry, however, is finding the balance between the reliance on history and process and the pursuit of progress. We have all heard at least once the mantra “because that’s how we’ve always done it” uttered when a process or standard was questioned. This is the wrong answer. Often, it’s the people in the trenches, the do-ers, the people dealing with the consultants and clients every day, the people working through outdated standards and processes that have a clear grasp on some of the changes that could benefit the industry and help us all thrive. They’ve lived through it in real-time, and from what I’ve seen, they are excited to get in there and push initiatives and show that they deserve a seat at the table. 

I’d like to make a case for leaning into the potential of young leadership. Let’s open ourselves up to new perspectives. Let’s release our firm reliance upon the ways that things have always been done and make room for some new ideas and fresh faces in leadership. Experience and intelligence are two wildly different things. One is merely a function of time, while the other is very much an indicator of potential and ability. Yes, the fresh sets of eyes need to be backed with industry experience, and this isn’t to say that we should overhaul the industry, just that we offer a light and make it a little more welcoming to those making their way through it in our shadows.

What will be needed to effectively make this shift? Senior leadership that isn’t only willing to say that they want change but who will actively support change. Companies that are willing to support and embrace new technology willingly, not because they feel forced. Let’s make a place at the table for the next generation. Oftentimes, they’re not given enough of a chance early in their careers, and we, as an industry, would benefit greatly from their insights and their leadership, if we give them the opportunity to shine?