Women Of The C-Suite: Katia McClain of Steinberg Hart On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive C-Suite

Don’t take things personally. You need to develop a thicker skin. If they don’t like a project, that doesn’t mean they don’t like you. They probably just don’t like where you put the door… Learn from it and don’t take it personally. In architecture, people use your art. The creative process has tangible results.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Katia McClain for Authority Magazine.

As Steinberg Hart’s Managing Principal for our San Jose office, Katia plays a major role in the success of many for the firm’s largest and most complex projects. With close to three decades of experience leading large-scale projects for civic and education clients, she is a recognized thought leader and is well known for her innovative and highly sustainable projects across California.

Katia has worked with clients and diverse communities designing complex civic, hospitality and commercial projects in the US and Mexico. By emphasizing collaboration among key design team partners, she creates powerful environments that have a positive impact to the people who use them. In addition to being active with AIA, NOMA, and the Design-Build Institute of America, Katia is an deeply committed member of the Silicon Valley and San Jose community. She serves as the Board President of the San Jose Downtown Association, a Board member of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, member of the SJ Downtown Design Committee, and a founding member of the Women in Architecture Committee for AIA’s Silicon Valley chapter.

Born in Mexico City and as an avid traveler, Katia embraces a diverse outlook in her work. Her trips underscore her approach to design and her belief that architecture respects the language of the community while inspiring innovative future development.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I was born and raised in Mexico City. A vibrant cosmopolitan City where architecture is an integral part of the culture, evolution, and a background of important social changes. I moved to the US in the late 90’s looking for more solid opportunities around design and construction in a heavily male-dominated industry. In the US, where only 17% of registered architects are women and less than 1% are Latina/x, I have had the opportunity to work on large higher education and developer projects and also have had the ability to advocate for and support the rise of female leaders in the profession.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I strive for a more transparent organization and a move towards a culture of high-performance without compromising the health and wellness of our staff.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

More than 25 years ago, I was reviewing material samples with a senior associate of the firm and I made a comment about how ugly a specific sample was, without knowing that they had that same material prominently displayed in their kitchen. After my comment, they invited me to their house and they have been one of my biggest supporters and mentors throughout the years. I learned that there can be disagreements at work, and at the end we are all humans and our differences make us stronger.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am grateful for those that have given me the opportunities to try to do more along the way. I have had the privilege to have more than one person in my life that has helped me to get where I am. My first job in the US was a big leap of faith of the owner of the firm hiring a young architect, from a different country, with a funny accent.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

My love for sports has helped me use movement as a method of relieving stress. The day before I have a big meeting or a presentation, I go for a run. Just me and the dog — no fancy clothes, makeup or lipstick, or even music. I think through the points that I want to make for the first mile or so, and then I try just to enjoy that moment.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

In a creative industry like architecture, diversity brings new ideas and experiences; different perspectives lead to better problem-solving. However, diversity is a fact but inclusion is a choice. You can hire diverse staff and ask them to speak up, but for us it is also important to provide the platform for those voices to be heard.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

Hire smart people that don’t look like you. Once you hire them, listen to what they need and go the extra mile to support their path and understand who they really are. Train managers to lead diverse teams. And then, once you think you are done, hire more individuals that look different from you, not just one.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

I think the main difference is in the people side of things — when you are in leadership you interact with others in a different way. The role at the top is lonely. You can gather input but in the end you have to be the one to make the decisions. There is also a difference involved in being a partner of a multinational firm. Our question is, “How do we export Silicon Valley expertise to other places?” You make decisions that define the future.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being an executive. Can you explain what you mean?

Being an executive, or an architect is not as glamorous as you might think. We do much more than just design. There is much more business work involved that they don’t teach you in school. Most people don’t realize the “grunt work” involved.

As an executive, you need to learn from your mistakes and learn how to interact with people.

Another myth I’ve heard is that everyone that works in Silicon Valley works in tech. This isn’t true. At Steinberg Hart, we do work for cities, universities, housing, and more; not everything is about tech. Particularly since the pandemic, there is a focus on everything that isn’t tech, and an added emphasis on places and opportunities that get you out of the house.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

People will sometimes assume that you probably didn’t work hard to get here, or that you’re just here because you’re a woman. Especially as a Latina in architecture, I don’t want to be seen as a token. You should be working to be the best, not just for diversity’s sake, but because you deserve it.

Women are also more collaborative. Men generally make decisions more unilaterally. When women strive for consensus and gather input in the workplace, this can be viewed as weakness. However, companies are beginning to favor having women in leadership because they make the environment more collaborative.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

My job involves spending more time on the business side of everything, the projects, the people — way more of it than I anticipated. And working with people more than you work on actual projects. When in a position of leadership, however, you need to keep in touch with the actual work, not just business development. I try to keep in touch with creating and the things I love to do — to keep my sanity.

Is everyone cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

You have to want to be an executive to be an executive. You will be in situations where you don’t want to make the decision; in situations that are difficult and not in the playbook. You must also be kind — you must care about your employees. Approach everything with kindness in order to be a good leader. Finally, you must be truthful — if you try to be somebody else, it will come back and bite you. Stay true to what you believe.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

You must recognize that you are part of the team. The success of one person is integral to the success of others.

Care — if you don’t care, you won’t have a loyal or high performing team; you need to care about the team for the team to care about you. You must also pay attention to the people that you work with, and lastly, If you want change, you’re going to have to do something.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I’m involved in everything that I can. It ends up being a bad thing, because I sign up for too many things! I can’t just stay back. It can also be beneficial because it forces me to stretch myself. I have my hands in so many different cookie jars because all the cookies need help!

It’s not that I want to change everything, but we cannot stay stagnant. We must always be planning for the next step.

For example, in the past two years I’ve served as President of the Board for the San Jose Downtown Association, working primarily with small businesses. Working alongside them has changed my perspective. They are so important. The fabric of the city isn’t Adobe, but the people that work at Adobe. Ground level, normal people. We must support small businesses as they are the ture fabric of the city. You can be a big name on the 10th floor, but the actual people will always be the foundation.

What are your “3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. It’s all worth it. Long nights, school, failures…
2. It really is the people that matter most, more than the projects. As important as they are. The people are the ones that actually make things happen. Think about people more than projects or design
3. Don’t take things personally. You need to develop a thicker skin. If they don’t like a project, that doesn’t mean they don’t like you. They probably just don’t like where you put the door… Learn from it and don’t take it personally. In architecture, people use your art. The creative process has tangible results.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Be kind. If someone does something good for you, pay for it. A mentor early in my career gave me 10 poker chips and told me, “ When you do something good, give them the chip and tell them to do something good for someone else. Be a servant leader.” In the end, what you do for others makes you a good leader. So I ask myself, “How many chips do I have left, what else can I do for others?” Pay it forward.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.” — Winston Churchill. In the end, those buildings will shape the way we interact. You’re not just making buildings, you are designing future interactions. You’re shaping how people behave.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

I would love to meet Sonia Sotomayor, she is Latina and comes from an environment where she knows what it means to be different. The majority of people around her are of a different opinion than her, and the decisions she makes affect the whole country, but she must also work with others who disagree. She needs to be careful with what she says because her words carry the weight to change the legal system. She is a different type of influencer than what you see online. Influencing on a political level is a very specific way of changing the world.

I would also like to have lunch with the CEO of Moderna — they are also shaping the world as architects do, but with new technology. I would like to know if there is something that they haven’t found yet, that would help them convince the other half of the country to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In our current political climate, our question should be aimed towards reconciling two extremes. In my world, the question is, how can we as designers and architects create a space that bridges the gap and makes something in the middle. How can we find common ground?

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.