Training as a Complement to Experience - 5 Architect as Influencer
I've been talking about training that can complement the experience that you get while you're working the actual tasks that you do. I provide training to help you do those work tasks more effectively, especially if you're not that familiar with some of these tasks, some of these areas of knowledge, it gets you to familiarity faster. Training is the best way to do that.
The most advanced course I offer is Architect As Influencer.
This is material that discusses your role as the architect in realms that you don't really have a direct leadership relationship. You don't have a contract. You don't have somebody contracting with you.
This is typically,
the entitlement phase
the plan check phase
dealing with the public
dealing with contractors
So it covers a lot of ground. It's about an hour and a half of training in eight lessons.
I call it Architect As Influencer, because architects are not just leaders of the people that they are assigned to lead and contracted to lead, or have a contractual relationship like with clients, but they're actually also leaders of the people in society, throughout society, and you engage with them on a regular basis, sometimes informally and sometimes very formally in meetings and hearings and special events.
I cover this specifically because this is something that you will do as an architect. In fact, I identified five of the NCARB Competency Standards that this course addresses:
the integration of socio demographic considerations in design, specifically utilizing meaningful engagement processes to get diverse perspectives. And when you're engaged with the public, that's what you're doing. You're listening for their perspectives and gathering that data to help you design better.
And you're also creating deliverables. Now, creating deliverables isn't just drafting, or just building models and creating construction documents, it's actually presenting the design. A lot of the tasks in NCARB’s AXP, the 96 tasks that you do, that you should have competency in, and all the competency standards that relate to communications are about presenting the design in some way to various parties, sometimes the client, sometimes to other designers or consultants, and oftentimes the public. So this course has sessions on presenting to the public. In fact, I have a separate training specifically on how to do presentations, actually, how to present in public and be effective.
Then I cover the plan check and construction processes. So in competencies 9 and 10 that deal with the construction phase administration, the course addresses the bullet points under those two competencies.
For Project & Practice Management Domain competencies including understand ethical and professional standards, there's the aspect of understanding the role of the architect in society, And that's also covered with trainings, dealing with the public, dealing with presenting yourself as a representative, not just of yourself in your firm, but of architects in general, how the broad public perceive of architects.
So that's in Architect As Influencer.
Get this course at, https://architectsaccelerator.com/architectinfluencer
This is going to be really beneficial to you in the future if you're not making those kinds of presentations, but if you are making those presentations now, you may get some tricks and tips for how to do it better.
