Bah Humbug!
This post is part of a coalition of architects posting on a single topic, each interpreting it in their own way, known as Architalks. This month the topic is your “Mentorship”
Mentorship.
Ugghh…
This is the kind of the topics I hate. Architecture bloggers are going to write long posts about their favorite mentors, or plug a local professional organization’s mentorship program, or possibly elaborate on how wonderful their office structures their learning.
Blah, blah, blah…
You know who you greatest mentor is?
You.
You’re going to come across many, many mentors in your career, and not a single one of them will do anything for you if you aren’t in the right mindset. And that has nothing to do with your company structure, the AIA or a Tony Robbins seminar.
Here’s what you need to do. From the moment you started school, you’ve been training for this moment. Don’t screw it up by trying to pretend you’re an architect. Follow these steps:
- Shut up. No really. For about two years. That brilliant idea you have about completely revolutionizing the project design? We tried that 15 years ago when you were still in grade school so seriously, shut up.
- Sit down. That’s right this is just like kindergarten. How do you expect to learn anything if you’re up walking around and talking all the time?
- Listen. Become a sponge. Absorb everything. Make notes, do sketches, attend seminars, visit architecture, take pictures. But every time you think about interjecting, don’t, refer to lesson no. 1.
- Ask questions. Lots of questions. Good questions. Insightful questions. Not questions that are redundant, or that make you proud you were so smart to ask them but questions that actually help you learn something.
- Find answers. Questions are extremely important, but don’t treat people like they are your own personal Google or a substitute for a code book.
- Work hard. Architecture is never a 40 hour a week prospect. Expect the best opportunities to come when you offer to help outside your normal 8 hours.
- Work smart. Value isn’t measured in time. It’s measured in production. If you kill it in 40 hours, go home. They’ll notice and be proud. If you destroy yourself by being up there all weekend, and get the same done as the person killing it in 40, you may lose your job.
- Teach yourself. Architect learning is better when it’s autodidactic. If you’ve ever said “I want to own my own firm,” this had better be your most accomplished skill.
In most cases you’re going to have high’s and lows in your career, good and bad firms, successful and tragic experiences. Your mentorship isn’t anyone’s responsibility but yours. You need to find a good firm. You need to associate with the people, the projects and the techniques that help refine your skills. You need to find way to contribute and grow and become valuable.
You are your best mentor.
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Check out the other bloggers who have written on this topic: Bob Borson - Life of An Architect (@bobborson) This is NOT Mentorship Marica McKeel - Studio MM (@ArchitectMM) ArchiTalks: Mentorship Jeff Echols - Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols) Mentors, Millennials and the Boomer Cliff Mark R. LePage - EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect) Influence Lora Teagarden - L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC) ArchiTalks: Mentorship Jeremiah Russell, AIA - ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect) teach them the way they should go: #architalks Jes Stafford - MODwelling (@modarchitect) Eric T. Faulkner - Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome) Bad Mentor, Good Mentor Stephen Ramos - BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@sramos_BAC) The Top 3 Benefits for Architects to Mentor and to be Mentored Brian Paletz - The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz) I've got a lot to learn Emily Grandstaff-Rice - Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA (@egrfaia) Gurus, Swamis, and Other Architectural Guides Jarod Hall - di'velept (@divelept) The Lonely Mentor Drew Paul Bell - Drew Paul Bell (@DrewPaulBell) Advice From My Mentor Jeffrey Pelletier - Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum) Mentoring with Anecdotes vs. Creating a Culture of Trust Samantha R. Markham - The Aspiring Architect (@TheAspiringArch) Why every Aspiring Architect needs SCARs Nisha Kandiah - ArchiDragon (@ArchiDragon) Mentorship : mend or end ? Keith Palma - Architect's Trace (@cogitatedesign) Mentor5hip is... Jim Mehaffey - Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey) My Mentor Tim Ung - Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung) 5 Mentors that are in my life Mark Stephens - Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark) Mentorship Gabriela Baierle-Atwood - Gabriela Baierle-Atwood (@gabrielabaierle) On Mentorship Ilaria Marani - Creative Aptitude (@creaptitude) Mentorship