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BUSINESS NEWS SVA ARCHITECTS’ DESIGN CELEBRATED BY RESIDENTS OF THE RESERVE AT SEABRIDGE As the residents settle into their homes at The Reserve at Seabridge, a new luxury apartment community in Oxnard, California, the stunning design by SVA Architects has received outstanding feedback. Located at 3851 Harbour Island Lane, The Reserve at Seabridge is 60 miles from Los Angeles, and offers the privacy and small-town feel of an independent beach community. SVA Architects, well known for its award- winning projects in the education, affordable, multifamily, civic, and institutional sectors, has demonstrated its excellence in the luxury genre of design in The Reserve at Seabridge. The Reserve at Seabridge, which harnesses the natural beauty of The Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, is part of the master-planned Seabridge community. Seabridge is a scenic waterfront community organized around
a network of waterways and public open spaces. Canals, marinas, and recreational bays carve into the land, forming two island neighborhoods connected by bridges to the integrated commercial and residential waterfront district. The Reserve at Seabridge, located on a 5.62-acre marina-facing site, features 75 live- work units, 179 parking spaces, as well as a 6,300-square-foot recreation center with a fitness facility, large swimming pool, spa, and sundeck. Apartment homes feature spa- like baths, gourmet kitchens with stainless steel Frigidaire appliances, custom lighting, oversized balconies/patios, and in-home washers/dryers. Ernesto Vasquez, FAIA, CEO of SVA Architects, states, “The Reserve at Seabridge draws on Oxnard’s picturesque beauty, and maximizes residents’ interaction with the outdoors. From the walkable design to the oversize windows overlooking the marina, our goal when
planning this project was to allow the natural beauty of the area to take centerstage. We are thrilled that residents have provided such positive feedback!” Founded in 2003, SVA Architects has become one of the country’s most innovative and respected design and planning organizations. The award-winning firm specializes in urban planning, architecture, and interior design of public, private, and mixed-use projects. Among the firm’s portfolio are civic, educational, residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments. SVA Architects values institutional and public environments as the foundation of a community and the backdrop against which we live, learn, work, worship, and play. The company is headquartered in Santa Ana, California with offices in Oakland, San Diego, and Honolulu.
JULIE BENEZET, from page 3
and you’ve been working hard ...” opens a door that might otherwise be closed by defensiveness. Your compassion allows them to see you as a human being rather than a jerk or the reincarnation of a hated relative. It also says you are paying attention. 4)Couch your feedback and goals in behavioral terms. Your job is to ask for a change in behavior, not personality. The latter would only impugn someone’s worthiness and be a futile undertaking. Frame your remarks in terms of the behavior you do and don’t want to see. “Your team members say they experience your communication style as angry and sarcastic. They find it demotivating. I’d like to hear your view of the situation and figure out how we can improve team motivation.” 5)Don your detective hat. Successful conversations allow each person to tell their side of the story. It sets the baseline information and lets them clarify their perception of a problem. Listen to understand. That means remaining quiet to absorb information, however uncomfortable. Your goal is to integrate new information into how you can solve the problem, rather than fighting over it. Key to understanding is asking follow-on questions and confirming what you heard. 6)Agree on a solution. With the benefit of new and clarified information, create a plan to address the problem. Be prepared to make compromises where new information supports them. It not only honors the conversation, it creates buy-in. Candor and smart choreography of difficult conversations, hard as they might be, will lead to more productive results and justify the pain of getting there. JULIE BENEZET spent 25 years in law and business, and for the past 18 years has coached and consulted with executives from virtually every industry. She earned her stripes for leading in the scariness of the new as Amazon’s first global real estate executive. She is author of the award-winning The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None . Her workbook, The Journal of Not Knowing , provides a self-guided discovery mission to navigate the adventure of pursuing one’s dreams based on the Journey principles. She can be reached at juliebenezet.com.
positive and negative. While it’s easier to deliver praise, the cost of not giving negative feedback can be high. If people don’t know what they are expected to do and how they are doing, they will disengage, perform at a substandard level, or leave. “Successful leadership requires effective communication to motivate people to do their best work. That means providing candid feedback, positive and negative. While it’s easier to deliver praise, the cost of not giving negative feedback can be high.” The outcome of a difficult conversation will depend on how you choreograph it. Here are six strategies: 1)Know why you are in the room. Before entering into a potentially difficult conversation, know what you want to accomplish. Too often, the need to be liked takes precedence over solving the problem. While it’s nice to be liked and to alleviate momentary hostility, it won’t solve the business problem. If hurt feelings are involved, they can be addressed during the conversation. 2)Use your indoor voice. Giving difficult messages is not the time to pull punches. Nevertheless, they must be delivered with the utmost care. It’s hard enough to say things others don’t want to hear. Coming across as judgmental or censorious will be counterproductive and make things worse. Open with a statement that establishes an even, objective tone. “I have received feedback from your team that I find concerning and would like to discuss it with you.” 3)Validate up front. Acknowledging a difficult situation establishes credibility. “I know this has been a tough project
THE ZWEIG LETTER December 2, 2019, ISSUE 1322
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