April_1966 — Page 65

LEADERSHIP IN ARCHITECTURE

TH

real

'HE qualities that make a

leader are almost indefinable. In time of war, a country needing leaders at all levels is able to impart certain techniques and produce a result ade- quate for routine purposes, but at the crucial point some bring out qualities. often unexpectedly, that transend all else.

Wilson, Scott's companion in the Antarctic was described as a man for whom one would gladly give one's life, and incidentally one who would (and did) give his own life for others. Scott was a leader, but of a different kind, perhaps greater; a man of tre- mendous faith, which he could trans- mit to others.

Those who aspire to leadership do well to read biography. They will find a kaleidoscope of personalities of conflicting and differing ideals and motivations. In doing so they will recognize reflections of themselves here and there, some of value to their cause and some not. If they discover that they do not have the qualities of a natural leader, they will find tech- niques which will carry them through. just as the army subaltern learns that he must see his platoon comfortably billeted before he does anything for himself!

The architect may not be called upon to lead a bayonet charge through an enemy minefield, but he will very likely find himself having to lead a perilous venture, the outcome of which affects the lives of many people including his own.

Servant and Leader

His role as a leader within the com- munity, is not often enough accepted by the architect himself and seldom recognized by the public. The archi- tect tends to regard himself rather as the servant of the public than as a leader.

He has to be both. His responsibi- lity for forming man's physical en- vironment is as great as the doctor's for community health, the teacher's for education, and the social worker's for welfare; in fact his responsibility extends into these other fields, into the total environment. The architect leads the exploration of future en- vironmental needs of the community and he leads the way in the accept- ance of change for the better.

If a philosophy is needed for leader- ship what could be better than leader- ship through service?

But it is within his own organiza- tion and within the building team that the architect is called upon to exercise leadership. Here it is of a direct kind and not the subtle method by which he obtains acceptance of his ideas by the public.

The building team is taken here to mean the collection of individuals be- side the architect, each with a speci-

Far East Architect & Builder April, 1966

By

Professor

W. G. Gregory

B Arch, ARIBA

alised skill the structural engineer, the quantity surveyor, the services en- gineer, the contractor and others. Each has a particular function to per- form, but his contribution is confined to his specialization.

This is distinct from the group, which is a collection of persons who are expected to contribute to the full- est extent to the whole, irrespective of individual contributions, they may be required to make. A design group. for instance, functions as a unit, all activity being directed to the end of producing the optimum design for a project. In both cases the architect as leader tends to be an equal among equals, or among those who believe themselves to be equals.

In his own office or in the design. group his staff will comprise others with architectural qualifications, and it is inevitable in a profession which has a uniform educational system and a standard code of practice for a feel- ing of equality to exist, however un- justified it might be, since obviously sɔme will be better than others by vir- tue of greater talent and experience.

The same applies on the inter-pro- fessional level of the building team. where no one will accept that his own profession is of less consequence than another.

These attitudes are healthy and a good leader will foster them, not to the point of rivalry, but by allowing the belief to exist, to encourage the maximum contribution by each pro- fession to the common end.

Free Thinker

Architects themselves are known to be particularly sensitive and suscep- tible to invasions of their individuali- ty and independence. The architect's education is aimed at making him a leader. at encouraging his develop- ment as a free thinking, decision- making individual and at developing his latent creative powers to the ful lest. So it is not to be unexpected then, nor is it desirable, that he com- pletely subordinates or subjugates his individual thinking, when working with his fellows.

This makes the task of the leader more difficult, in encouraging the contribution that the individual ap- proach can make, and at the same time keeping it within bounds and

within the framework of the task in hand. With skill and tact a person can be made to feel that he is still an individual, but in fact an integral part of a group.

Leadership requires. despite exam- ples to the contrary, a high degree of competency in knowledge and skill, relative to those being lead not to impress them or to establish superi- ority, but to inspire confidence. Suc- cess does not come from showing that one has all the answers but in being able to come up" with them when required.

A technique is to allow others to give the answer, even if it has already been thought of and in some cases it is politic to "go along with" another's idea, even if it does not appear to be quite as good as one's own. This unobtrusive bringing out the best in others and allowing them to gain confidence and to expand, is an es- sential characteristic of leadership.

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Although a high deree of compe- tency is needed in the leader, it is not suggested that he must be a “super- man. There will be associates whose knowledge and skill in certain fields will be superior to his. It is a mistake to pretend that this is not so.

Position Challenged

A leader should not deliberately expose his weaknesses, which, being human will exist, but when they come to the surface they should be admit- ted, and if the person concerned is a true leader, others will respond to such admissions without losing faith.

Arising out of this comes the situa- tion when the leader's position is challenged by a subordinate, which in fact is an indication that he has indeed been leading. Fear of usur. pation, to be on the constant look out for it, will quickly cause the dissolu- tion of the leader's position.

This is seen in some architect's offices where good men are deliber- ately kept down. Sooner or later they leave the practice and serve others who are prepared to recognize such qualities. Better, it would be, to hold on to these people, and put them into a position where their qualities work for the good of one's own organization. Those who have such fears, do not have the "stuff" from which leaders are made.

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