No matter your experience level, the profession lends itself to Architects constant learning through your entire career. Whether it is building technology, software technology, or office culture dynamics, there is always something to focus on. The book, “The First 90 Days” by Michael Watkins reviews ways to accelerate your learning when starting a new role. When reviewing the four categories it truly applies to most aspects of learning from your work experiences.
Overcoming Learning Roadblocks
There will be times that you may feel like you are drinking from a fire hose and it can be overwhelming. There is a steep learning curve when you start your career. Studying for the Architectural Registration Exams can be daunting just trying to figure out where to start and what resources to use. A new office or big career transition can have a similar feeling when making major adjustments and learning to adapt to this new role.
Too often people fail to plan to learn. Like keeping tasks and deadlines in order based on highest priority. Not that hard, right? You just need to recognize the list of tasks, understand how to rank them based on priorities and deadlines, and then plan out your work week. At the more macro scale, take the time to know what you are trying to tackle and know that it takes time to learn. By creating small milestones is a way to take baby steps towards your overall long-term goal and generating momentum with small wins.
Others may experience learning roadblocks, which is an internal barrier(s) to learning. When you adjust to a new job, there needs to be a balance of doing and listening. This means taking steps to make things happen while also being able to step back to observe and reflect. For someone first starting their career, there is a balance of active and passive learning. Actively taking on tasks and initiative to learn through doing. While also focusing on the passive side by listening, be present in important conversations/situations, and finally being able to ask questions to learn more. An imbalance may lead to a roadblock in learning by not understanding both sides. It creates a roadblock where you can’t see the full picture in front of you.
Managing Learning as An Investment
There is a limit to the number of hours in a day and the amount of energy you have available. It is a scarce resource which means there is not an infinite amount of time to learn and it is impossible to have the energy to get up to speed in a heartbeat. Understanding that these are limited resources means they hold great value. It is important to recognize that learning is an investment towards yourself. One suggestion would be to focus on your passion or what excites you about the profession.
Another would be to try not to stretch yourself too thin. There are 128 hours in a week outside the typical 40-hour work week. If you decided to be a part of 10 organizations, how much time does that really leave you to make an impact? (Plus sleeping, eating, hobbies, see friends, and life) By choosing just a few (or 1) organizations that you are passionate for you may have the time to hold a formal position or run a subcommittee within that organization.
From a project perspective, to maximize your return on investment in learning, you must effectively and efficiently extract actionable insights from the mass of information available to you. To be an effective learner, you need to figure out WHAT you need to learn so you can focus your efforts. Efficient learning means identifying the best resources available and then figuring out how to extract the most maximum insight in the least amount of time. That may me delegating part of the work to then bring back to the table to discuss and collaborate.
Defining Your Learning Agenda
Effective learning calls for figuring out WHAT you need to learn so you can focus your efforts. How do you know what you need to learn? You ask questions. Watkins gives a noble example of starting with asking questions related to three categories: questions of the past, present, and future.
For instance, let us say you need to find a foldable partition for a project, but you’ve never put one in a project before. Questions of the past (or background type questions) may include: Why does the client/user want the foldable partition? What type of user will use it?
Questions for the present may include: What is the floor to floor height for the project? Do we know what the height will be for the new ceiling? Do you know of any manufacturers the firm recommends starting my research? Are there other projects examples that have this type of foldable partition?
Questions for the future may include: Are their consultants or other team members I will need to coordinate with after choosing the product basis of design? After looking at a manufacturer’s website, you may have additional questions you didn’t know about before: Do we want the panels to hide in an alcove when collapsed? Do we want a manual or automatic foldable partition? What type of finishes or STC rating is needed by the owner?
By starting to take on a bigger challenge in these three categories can help to organize a type of agenda full of questions. The same approach can be done for starting at a new organization, transitioning to a new role, or starting a new project type.
Identifying the Best Sources of Insight
There are books, codes, manufacturers, past project examples, precedent images, and personal experience, but nothing is as good of a resource as those professionals around you. The lessons you will learn by being around others will surprise you. Architects are constantly problem solving, finding alternative ways of pulling a design together, learning new materials, and adapting to change. Listening to a phone call by someone in the next desk may spawn a learning opportunity, the ability to ask a question not related at all to what you are working on, or help a situation based on your own experience.
Another important aspect is knowing when it is time to reach out to an expert. Is it time to pull in a structural engineer to understand how something unique can be built? Or do you need to bring in a roofing representative to be aware of the options available and what works best for your project? The more you reach out to the experts, the more you learn along the way. By no means after a meeting should you expect to be an expert. But approaching a meeting ready to learn the key differences, important features, and learn the right questions to ask will improve your overall knowledge and experience as an architect.
Last, know what type of experts you have available in the office. Is there someone good at understanding building and fire codes? Is there a good teacher in the office for learning the basics about door hardware? Are there professionals that specialize in a project type? Being able to identify the best sources internally and externally of your firm will help you throughout your entire career. Identify who these people are, learn from them, and grow your career.
Written by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, LSSBB