8
TRANSLATOR, from page 7
and the fastest way to do that is to cut past formalities and be willing to share personal experience. It ultimately humanizes the process, and makes it easier to discuss the technical things and to navigate through future issues. TZL: What role does your family play in your career? Are work and family separate, or is there overlap? KH: The lines between work and home life are definitely blurry – Jake Donaldson and Eric Hudson (the other founding partners of Method Architecture) are two of my oldest friends and we’ve all transitioned from college life to work life to family life on similar paths. We all have young families and some of our kids go to school together. I don’t think I’m here if not for my family. They are my motivation and the welcomed distraction that keeps me grounded. My wife, Lindsay, is incredibly supportive and has an uncanny ability to know how to lift me up or carry us through challenging times. We have four beautiful children who are all wonderful and unique, so it lends itself to being a very full life. Our youngest child was born with some genetic challenges that we were certainly not expecting, but he has brought us all a new perspective and helped us grow as individuals and as a family. He helped me learn to be more open about sharing this part of my story with colleagues, and I continue to be overjoyed by how receptive people are and how willing they are to share their own stories and challenges. Those challenges have reinforced that I want to make meaningful connections and offer support wherever I’m needed. TZL: It is often said that people leave managers, not companies. What are you doing to ensure that your line leadership are great people managers? KH: We ask a lot of our managers, but one of the central challenges is their ability and willingness to grow into a role that bridges the gap of being in projects versus working on team management and learning to support firmwide goals. We invest heavily in training, mentorship, and educational opportunities for current and future managers, to build skills and confidence. Aside from providing external opportunities, we have created an internal mentorship program, which is intended to create a safe place for rising stars to connect with current Method leaders and find or create their path to growth at Method. TZL: Personally, what types of projects do you enjoy working on most and why? KH: Spec industrial and brewery projects are some of the first “‘Ego-free’ isn’t one of the firm’s core values by accident. It’s our commitment to make the profession better. It’s also somewhat of a reaction against a longstanding perception and stereotype that ‘star- chitects’ and ‘black-cape’ architects are the profession.”
Keith Holley with Method’s rising leaders group during a recent leadership coaching session.
that come to mind. I like industrial because those buildings can be deceptively hard to do right. The main challenges are working within site constraints that are dictated by circulation, market demand, and the marketability of the finished product. So, we try with each of them to make a facility or business park that maximizes efficiency and leasable square footage, but also suits our client’s portfolio and creates an identity for that development. Breweries are fun for similar reasons, but with the added layer of the types and variety of people who are immersed in beer culture. Ultimately, I like any project where we can assemble a team, identify the goals that would make it successful, execute, and then do it again. Profitable ones aren’t too bad either! TZL: Ownership transition can be tricky, to say the least. What’s the key to ensuring a smooth passing of the baton? What’s the biggest pitfall to avoid? KH: Communication is an obvious choice, because it’s the only way to test whether it can work or not, but I think that empathy is probably equally important to keep front of mind. Empathy is really the grounding element. It helps to look beyond just the financial benefits or new market sector opportunities, and to stay grounded in the people this impacts and what this change means to them. TZL: How many years of experience – or large enough book of business – is enough to become a principal in your firm? Are you naming principals in their 20s or 30s? KH: This is a funny one – it really would be much simpler if we boiled down formula or if it was just tied to tenure. The truth is that age is possibly the least relevant factor in becoming a principal at Method. Experience certainly comes with time, but instincts, attitude, and approach also play significant roles. We’re a relatively young company (in average age and in business terms), but we use that as an asset because we aren’t really bound by the expectations of working within “normal” or “corporate” rules. It’s mostly tied to need, opportunity, ability, and timing.
© Copyright 2022. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 22, 2022, ISSUE 1454
Made with FlippingBook Annual report