Three Lessons That Taught Me How to Be Professional By Being Personal
After finishing my Master of Architecture in May of 2019, I never thought I’d face so much uncertainty near the end of the first full year of my career. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges to the economy and the architectural profession, and working from home has allowed me more free time (and alone time) to reflect on the first year of my career — a year that has been thought provoking in ways I didn’t anticipate.
Wether you’re several years into your career and find my advice reminiscent of your own experiences (if you don’t, laugh with me not at me), or a student looking forward to professional life following graduation, understand that a dose of optimism paired with each of the lessons is paramount to help you realize your goals.
1. Relatable Is More Desirable than Professional
I launched into my role by speaking with loaded jargon in the office and blasting out wordy, exceedingly professional emails. I began to notice that other staff members and even consultants outside of our firm weren’t using the ultra professional “mumbo jumbo” I thought was commonplace in the office. I observed that I needed to reevaluate my communication methods. Personality wise, I’m not a corporate machine by any means, and I figured that no one enjoys initiating a conversation with the robot intern in the corner cubicle. This took some soul-searching because I didn’t know how to reconcile my casual voice with my professional voice. This is probably because I felt as though I needed to constantly demonstrate my competence being a member of several marginalized communities — I’m a young professional, a black man, and a gay man.
Ultimately, it was exhausting being a corporate machine all the time, so I decided to present my true self and see what would happen. I found that my overall delivery wasn’t much different, however I felt comfortable in my own shoes again. Conversation with others felt more natural. A willingness to engage others emerged from a newfound confidence. I had these conversational superpowers all along, but I had finally tapped into to my potential simply by being Braison.
2. Adapting Is More Productive than Analyzing
In architecture school, I would frequently to compare myself with others. There is a universal routine in architecture school where students display their graphic work on a classroom wall for professors to critique in front of the entire class. I mistakenly carried this mindset into the office when I began working at a large architecture firm. I immediately recognized that there were more people to compare myself to with — a lot more than the 43 other students in my graduating class.
I was in a role entitled Designer I in which my fundamental responsibilities were to learn the project delivery process and provide support to projects. Its almost like a long-term apprenticeship — it is an extremely common entry level role in the architecture profession. Nonetheless, I would sit at my desk during the workday and create aggressive mental timelines outlining when I would achieve an advanced role. I didn’t (and still don’t) know what direction I’d like to take my career — I could be a designer, technical expert, project manager, or a sustainability specialist to name a few roles. These thoughts limited the effort I could have granted myself to explore the work I had right in front of me in my current role. Moreover, the opportunity to advance my understanding of my current role was lost in premature introspection.
3. Persistence Is More Valuable than Proficiency
I appropriated the phrase, “short term sacrifice, long term reward” for use as my professional mantra when I began my role. Fresh out of school, I was driven by the desire to quickly pay off student loans and save up for a townhome in a few years. In retrospect, the phrase created a negative attitude towards my role at work. It perpetuated a continuous feeling that the work I was doing was outright drudgery when it wasn’t. I still valued persistence having made it through seven years of architecture school, but I didn’t understand why this phrase because a source of internal conflict until I had a conversation with one of my mentors. During our conversation, I identified the key to understanding how the pace of my career relates to the grand scheme of my personal and professional goals.
The reward doesn’t lie in the advancement of my role, but in the value of my latent potential and network of career-allies.
I ultimately overcame the preoccupation with understanding how my competence could be improved. I shifted my focus towards understanding how the wisdom I acquire in my role can add value to my career while building on the connections with friends, mentors, and colleagues. It was the open conversations I experienced with these individuals that provided me insight into my own method of thought — not the long nights after work spent studying for my Architectural Registration Exams.
As I’ve learned to trust in myself, I’ve allowed myself to trust in others — I believe that authentic human connection will always remain the guiding force in my professional life.
