Number of People
Number of People
Acceptable Behavior / Appearance Figure 1: Narrow range of what is acceptable can lead to narrow perspectives
influenced by firm legacy and the culture of an industry, as is the case with architecture. With or without awareness, most firm leaders will perpetuate the narrowness of this acceptable range by always hiring people who “fit in.” Firms that want to benefit from differing perspectives and points of view must widen the range of what is considered to be acceptable behavior and appearance. People who look and act differently may also think differently. If they are welcomed and fostered, they will bring new ideas and creative perspectives to an organization. For architectural firms, this capacity is critical (Figure 2). While widening the range of what is acceptable may be challenging, firms that want to succeed in the twentyfirst century will have no choice. The next generation of American workers will be significantly more diverse than any that have come before. Having a culture of openness and acceptance will enable firms to attract young talent and retain diverse staff over the long run.
Acceptable Behavior / Appearance Figure 2: Wide range of what is acceptable encourages diversity of thought
architectural workplace. Doing this requires organizations to be adaptive, flexible, resilient and intelligent – qualities of organic self-organizing systems. Other attributes of selforganization include a coherent sense of identity and organization-wide access to information and personnel. This allows all firm members to have alignment of purpose, and gives them the resources and flexibility to get the work done. More information on self-organizing systems and their application to firm management can be found in the groundbreaking work of author and consultant Margaret Wheatley. Firm leadership can further stimulate learning and creativity by seeing diversity as concerning differing
perspectives and approaches to work, rather than different identitybased groups of people. By using the principals of self-organization, these varying perspectives can be allowed to influence the way work in the firm is actually done – its primary tasks, mission, strategic planning, and business practices. In doing so, a firm can increase the depth and richness of its creative resources, as well as its productivity, thereby reaping fully the promised benefits of diversity.
Rena M. Klein, FAIA is the author of The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management (Wiley, 2010) and VP of Investment Partnerships at Charrette Venture Group.
The Organic Approach To cultivate a culture of openness, a firm must match its management structure to the ever-changing and highly complex nature of today’s
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