Designers: Are you a leader?
I ran across this interesting piece via core77. The article quoted is written by Richard Farson. I am unfamiliar with him and his work, but what he wrote in this essay rang true with me.
Design is one of the few professions dominated by its clientele. Compared to physicians, attorneys, and academics, designers are inclined to do what they’re told. That posture is so widely accepted among designers it sometimes seems that the only ones who can occasionally insist on having things their way are the superstars of design.
Personally, I found this piece of the article to be rather insightful and thought provoking as well.
Many years ago my friend, the late designer George Nelson, told me a story I will never forget. Early in his career George worked for a time with Frank Lloyd Wright. One day when George and the great prairie architect were taking a walk and talking, Wright was struggling to find a metaphor that would explain the essence of architecture. At one point he stopped and pointed to a flower, saying, “Architecture is like this flower….no, that’s not it.” He then walked a bit farther, turned and said, “George, architecture is like being in love.” After he told me that story George said, “Dick, I hope it doesn’t take you as long as it took me to figure out what he meant by that.”
Well, I’m afraid that it did. But I’m beginning to get the idea. It is a paradox. In order to be a professional, one must be an amateur. The word amateur comes from the Latin amator, meaning to love. An amateur is one who does something for the love of it. Of course. Love and passion are the organizing forces in leadership and management, overriding technique or skill, just as they are in almost everything worthwhile doing—romance, parenthood, creativity. Paraphrasing Wright—leadership, then, is like being in love. And paraphrasing George—I hope it will not take you as long to understand that as it took me.
I encourage everyone to read the whole article. Not just the design folk.
Also: Everyone should go check out Larry’s latest post on Table for Jake. He writes about how the internet is labeled as evil, when its more about how society uses the internet. Interesting point and worth a look.
by Larry
On February 22, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I liked the article itself, though the tone of it struck a cord with me. I suppose the overall purpose of the article is to get designers to stop standing in the background and start showing how they can help become helpful in an organization, which is good. This could also probably apply to any other profession I can think of.
The one thing that kinda irked me though – and this is more abstract than specific to the article – is how everyone thinks they’re a leader. Maybe it’s this generation, where everyone’s told “be a leader, be successful” or, more appropriately, “you’re not successful unless you’re a leader.” In almost every professional and social group I’ve seen, there’s always been approximately 90% of the group who considers themselves leaders. Of all these people, I have yet to meet one with any decent leadership qualities.
Don’t get me wrong – I like the article. It just seems to remind me of how people think that in order to be successful in life, you’ve gotta be at the top or in charge of people.
Dunno, maybe I’m off. I’ll get off the soapbox now anyways, and thanks for the plug buddy. Wuwu!
by travis
On February 22, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I agree with your observation that a lot of people think they need to be a leader in order to be successful. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that do not have the qualities that would make them a good leader, in which case they may come off as pushy or bossy.
It is my belief that good leaders are not as obvious.
As to what the author is saying: I think he is trying to make the point that designers are big picture thinkers, and that this ability could benefit some of the high level management.
by Chris HP
On March 1, 2007 at 10:13 am
I can see where Larry is coming from, everyone is telling you that you need to step up and be the big boss man, but that’s why i find this article so interesting. It’s almost saying that to be a leader, you don’t step up, you don’t force your way there. To be a leader, you must serve those you lead.
It’s a had task and you have to take the bad with the good, something a designer is used to. As hellacious as it is to be up until 3am working on a design project or a drawing, the satisfaction received from doing it is worth the sleep deprivation. Designers are breed to put themselves through pain in order to satisfy others (and, in turn, themselves).