Archi Miss or Misunderstood?
It’s not uncommon to hear architects bemoaning that their client, or someone else involved in a project, didn’t get it. Didn’t understand what they were doing. Didn’t understand the project. Didn’t understand the intent. The project now seemingly at a point of impasse or at the very least exasperation.
So what to do in this situation?
Instead of looking for someone to blame, which doesn’t move the project forward, how might you instead find a new way forward?
Get curious.
What is it your client didn’t understand?
What is it that perhaps you didn’t understand?
Is the problem with the proposal or the way it was presented?
What is your client’s perspective? What is it they may have been expecting? Has there been a disconnect?
Have you used language they may not have been able to engage with? Have you explained it in terms they can easily understand?
(feel free to substitute “client” with “consultant”, “council”, or some other person involved in a project)
You really need to dig into these questions. You must be honest in your thinking and answers. Really get inside your client’s head and try to understand their perspective. Be empathetic. It may be helpful to do this exercise with someone else. They don’t even need to be an architect. It may be better if they’re not.
Once you’ve done this carefully and thoughtfully, is there anything you now see? Can you identify a change you need to make? A way to move things forward?
Keep in mind that it could be that it’s just not for them. It may be that this is a project that you need to walk away from or find someone else to work with.
Consider…
What might be a better way to connect with your client? What new approach can you take? What language might assist in building that engagement? Is it the language or presentation that needs change or how the work presented has been realised?
Keep in mind, whatever the situation, there is always another way forward and it need not involve blame.
Michael is the founder of unmeasured, supporting architects in their practice through coaching, workshops and community.
Helping architects find their desire lines in practice.
Photo by Syed Hasan Mehdi on Pexels
