ELP September 2012 Class

For the September ELP seminar, the class met at Sabine Hall on the Richland College Campus. The seminar focused on project leadership and featured panelists with backgrounds in both architecture and construction.  Our invited guests were Patrick Glenn, a principal with Perkins + Will; Wade Andres, President and CEO of Andres Construction; and Stephen R. Miller, a project manager with Andres Construction.

Pete’s session began with a fun collaborative exercise that helped everyone recall and situate all the analytical models that we’ve studied throughout the year with regard to leadership development.   By using the dashboard of an automobile as a metaphor, we broke into groups and related each of the concepts to the instruments and gauges we all utilize in driving our vehicles.  The goal was to situate the various analytical models as if they were instruments on a dashboard---where would we place them? How would we use them? How are they connected and interdependent? The dashboard represents self-awareness of the automobile machine in real time;  Pete used it as a metaphor because all of the analytical models are tools to better understand ourselves as developing leaders.  Each group sketched their automobile dash on the dry erase board and presented their ideas to the class.  One group applied the Johari  Window model (Open, Hidden, Blind, and Unknown Self) to all components of the dash, while the other groups expanded upon the Farm Gate, Leadership Effectiveness Triangle, and the Dynamics of Competency Model.

Next, Pete presented the product realization model diagram and closed the session with a group discussion where we applied it to the practice of architecture, relating the workflows and processes conveyed in the diagram to the workflows and processes each of us keenly know as practicing architects.  We looked at the diagram from the perspective of innovator, bridger and adaptor types to understand where each of these cognitive problem solving styles most naturally fit within the phases of the product realization model.

Nick Richardson  

ELP August 2012 Class

We kicked off Pete’s portion of the class with a group discussion “gut check” at each table about how we feel the ELP program is going so far this year and what we might do differently for next year’s group of budding ELP’ers. The current co-chairs took notes as we opened up the discussion as a class in an effort to keep pushing the ELP program to its ultimate potential of effectively teaching and coaching young professionals to become great leaders in their respective firms, communities, and homes. “Why should anyone take you seriously?” This is how Pete got our attention back on him and proceeded to give us a quick recap on previous lessons, from the Competency Model, to the Ability/Awareness/Commitment Triangle, and the Farm Gate Model, which shows how the middle managers of the world have the hardest positions. We touched on how to create an environment that enables people to advance their work and Andrew gave a great example of this that he has implemented at his firm with the help of a couple colleagues. They periodically hold a firm wide forum to learn from recent graduates on how to enhance the companies design capabilities. It’s a great opportunity to learn from young, energetic, “change the world” kind of individuals and keep the brainstorming and fresh ideas flowing through the company, which will keep the company relevant to new and ever-changing clients. We wrapped up the class by “giving back to the profession” as Pete called it, by having table talk about a series of questions the Univ. of Utah’s Design Center has come up with to better define the roll of a fully developed manager. This was no easy task and took some great contemplation and discussion between classmates to create each tables idealistic fully developed manager.

Chris Owens