My “experience” & “takeaways” at AIA Women's Leadership Summit 2023, Boston

As part of my firm's Architecture Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (AIDE) Council's program, I was grateful to be selected for attending this year's AIA women leadership conference happening in Boston.

I had no idea of the shear magnitude of positivity this conference would empower me with. And that how the energy of being around fearless women leaders and creative professionals would feel like.

If you are less on time to read the whole article where I go in detail about the takeaways I grabbed from each day, I would mention the following three (3) quick takeaways:

·        It gave me the power to realize that indeed the possibilities are endless.  

·        Towards the end I searched on Google where the conference is being held the next year.

·        One of the things I realized was that it's okay to have a meandering path and not just a straight line. Someone there said that architecture is like a sandbox and has plenty of space for everyone, which on hearing I found it really comforting. Being there taught me that I have to be comfortable and courageous enough to share my ideas in order to connect with like-minded individuals and gain clarity.

 Day 0 - Welcome reception

1) Inclusivity & Diversity

This might read cliche, but I was able to “feel” these two buzz words on a much bigger scale here.

My perception on the importance of diversity:
Recently I have come to the realization how diversity actually makes a difference both in personal and professional life. I have been fortunate and consider it a great privilege to grow up in a metropolitan city back in India packed with diversity. Sadly, that made me take diversity for granted, and I only realized its importance once I met a certain group of people. I was taken a back when I saw them making pockets of judgements and generalized comments for people from different regions. I on the other hand did not get the opportunity to make those pockets as I just never thought from that perspective.

So being at a place where I did not feel uncomfortable was a green flag and I started feeling how this conference is open and inclusive to new ideas from everyone irrespective of their background.

2) "Observing" & "copying" the art of networking

I distinctly remember this one lady at the reception who was so good at initiating a conversation, making a connection, and then moving on to meet the next person. And I thought to myself, that if I do not get comfortable now, I probably never would. So, I immediately started applied her approach and finally started getting comfortable with it. After a while I did infuse my flavor in the copied style.

Wrapping day 0, I had this interesting conversation with a lady who mentioned how you spend your day really depends on if you work in a small or a large firm. And depending on one’s personality and what type of a eight (8) hour day they envision for themselves, that is a question to ponder over or even ask in your next interview.

Day 1 - Personal growth

1) Inspirational & Motivation

On day 1, I realized that right now for the next three (3) days I am surrounded by these 900 fearless women leaders who refuse to be bound by convention. And that itself is such a powerful energy to have.

2) Personal Growth

Personal growth because of the engaging seminars, my favorite being "Leadership lab: Designing an intentional and meaningful career". You are absorbing and learning from each presenter's distinct style of presenting and their own diverse perspectives.

Workshop
Leadership Lab: Designing an Intentional & Meaningful Career

This was designed as a three-hour interactive workshop. As the AIA website states, "it is aimed at identifying one's passions and distinguish how you are uniquely wired to lead in the practice of architecture while also exploring how learned skills and capabilities inform your individual “lane” of practice."

I felt the description clicked with me in light of where I am in my career path.

The process began with questions and writing down answers to what motivates us to get out of bed, what success means to us etc. In parallel to this, the speakers were sharing their experiences and journey.

Leadership lab positively forced and channelized my thinking into asking the right questions for clarity in my career path.

One of the presenter's quoted, "You need to be courageous enough to share your silly ideas in order to achieve clarity and connect with like-minded people". And that along with a few other reasons, pushed me to publish this platform.

The speakers also emphasized on the importance of peer mentorship, which is often overlooked. Furthermore, it prompted us to think if it is possible to intersect one's personal passion with our professional workset. We also wrote down our skills into soft and technical skills, and skills we wish we had from a person we admire.

~ "Architecture is like a sandbox and has plenty of space for everyone” ~
One of the presenters

We ended the session by completing the statement "I will do ..........." and left the room with confidence.

~ Betting on yourself when everything else is unknown ~
Someone in the conference

Keynote
Equity x Society feat. AIA Leadership & Advocacy Panel

There was an interesting panel discussion which included Tiffany Chu, Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu; Kimberly Dowdell, AIA First Vice President; Andrea Love, FAIA Principal & Director of Science at Payette and Dr. Evelyn Murphy, Co-chair of the Boston Women’s Workforce Council.

"The wage gap is the power gap" beautifully quoted by Evenlyn murphy who wrote the book "Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men--And What to Do About It". She encouraged senior leadership to reflect on their actions in terms of what they wish to instill in their next generation. And also encouraged young professionals to find mentors and think about ways they can contribute to society through their passions.

Kimberly Dowdell, who will be the 100th AIA president later this year, spoke about how policies and politics can too have a positive impact on the built environment. She strongly believes that a built environment possesses the power to heal the communities. She motivated young professionals to gather the data and move the needle wherever they want to make an impact. In addition, she stressed the importance of mentorship, building a culture of inclusion, and being licensed. She concluded with a beautiful story about receiving a letter from a young girl who stated "Because you won, I know my dreams are possible".

Tiffany Chu, committed to advocating for equity encouraged everyone to join their local neighborhood associations and start by making an impact in their immediate surroundings. I found it interesting when she mentioned to take care of all the generations and age that are present around the table during meetings. Through this she highlighted the importance of recognizing and respecting the diversity of opinions that exist in the community and that everyone should be listened to and valued regardless of their age, gender, or race. She definitely demonstrated an openness to fresh ideas and an appreciation for new perspectives.

Andrea Love stressed the importance of giving employees flexibility and space to shine for them to be able to demonstrate their true abilities. Furthermore, she encouraged young professionals to develop the confidence to speak up and be able to use their voice to make a difference.

Closing out, AIA President Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA also pointed out that women are more likely to use "We" when talking about their accomplishments, instead of taking credit for themselves using the word "I". And I did find this very intriguing and sad at the same time. This could be attributed to the fact that women are often encouraged to be modest and humble, and to take a backseat when it comes to celebrating their successes. By saying "We", they are emphasizing a team effort, rather than taking credit on an individual basis.

~ In the midst of difficulties lies opportunities. ~
Carol Burns

Day 2 - Empowerment

1) Feeling empowered and leaving with a positive attitude.

The next thing I wanted to do was to sit down and self-reflect on all the conversations/sessions I've had these last three days. Following it with introspection and and establishing my goals. As I mentioned in the beginning, it gave me the power to realize the possibilities are indeed endless. The idea of "perfectionism" should not be a hindrance to what one wishes to accomplish.

Fun fact:
This feeling that I left with was one of the reasons that prompted me to create + publish this website on which you are reading this article 😊

Workshop
Designing Firm Culture: Stories from an Open & Transparent Firm

The presenters Mel Price, Principal of Work Program Architects and Erin Agdinaoay, Project Manager demonstrated a unique approach of operating a business through a innovative thinking of embodying the philosophy of transparency in financial practices and introducing new ownership structures. As their website clearly states, “Finances are an open book here”.

The speakers also cited a beautiful quote "We are stronger the more different we are". 

Among the other things that make them unique are:

·        Young designer serves supports documentation in larger projects while shadowing a senior designer but has the opportunity to act as a PM in small projects.

·        They put an emphasis on making the onboarding process as welcoming as possible. (In their words, a good start goes a long way!)

·        The intern receives a scholarship of 25%.

·        Provides executive coaching to the employees that they consider to be game-changing.

·        Investing in company culture as a means of retaining and nurturing young talent.

My summary doesn't do justice to their unique approach, so head to their website to know more https://wparch.com/.

~ If we claim who we are, we do not have to speak louder but can speak softer.
That is powerful and strong. ~

Billie Tsien

Keynote:
Disruption Requires Boldness with Aurora James

In her inspiring talk, Aurora James shared how she started her sustainable luxury fashion label Brother Vellies and how she broke stereotypes along the way. There was no doubt that she literally reflected the fact that disruption requires boldness.

She beautifully quoted - "Stumbling is evidence of momentum". In continuation of her statement, she talked about how one should be comfortable with pushing the boundaries that make people uncomfortable.

I found it interesting when she shared her use of “creative director” as a title for all the workers instead of "designers". She also ensures that women are not exploited in the supply chain for the purpose of creating some artwork on the product. As that would be totally unattractive.

In her advice, she suggested that as professionals, we shouldn't be afraid to pivot in our careers. Odds are that all the things one has done prepares them for what they are going to do next. Closing out, she motivated to not lose sight of your fire. And that it is important to keep looking left and right while progressing and to keep supporting each other along the way.

Aurora concluded her talk by saying that you need inner power in addition to technical abilities to be able to make an impact.

So if you do want to make an impact, do not want to limit yourself, and want to push boundaries, you need to be here. I can bet that each individual you will meet out there is unique, have a fire in them that is very contagious.