Interview Questions
Background and Experience:
[Link] you explain how you came to hold a leading position in
the design sector?
With my experience in the construction Industry, I saw a gap in my local
area for the need in design information to small to medium sized projects.
I therefore created my won business to fill this gap and provide a service
for localized projects.
2. What leadership roles do you presently occupy inside your
company?
I am the owner of the company and play fulfil the leading civil design role.
3. What attributes do you think have contributed to your success
as a design industry leader?
I would say my extensive experience in the civil construction industry
mainly focusing on building medium to large scale construction projects.
My understanding of how current designs work and being able to interpret
designs and drawings have enabled me to have a challenging and
questioning attitude towards projects and how they are designed.
Characteristics of Good Leadership in Design
4. Which leadership qualities do you think are most crucial for
someone in a design firm?
Practical thinking - Understanding Practical ways of implementing a
design (Practicality)
Quantity Surveying Skills - Cost Driven designs ensure what is
designed can be done with a low cost or within budget.
Transparency – In order to have effective designs there needs to be
accurate communication in the client’s needs.
Local Knowledge - Local skills and experience in construction give
way to understanding what type of designs can be implemented.
Experience – In order to be a good leader one must be able to know
how to interpret and formulate designs with good communication
skills.
Networking skills – A good network can create incoming workflow
and enable reach-outs when help is needed.
5. In your leadership style, how do you strike a balance between
innovation and business strategy?
By understanding what the client needs and budget is a design can be
formulated that is well suitable and practical ensuring that what is design
can be achieved. Achieved designs can lead to more business and ensure
an active workflow is established between well known clients and new
clients.
6. How do you encourage your team to be creative and
innovative?
By setting standards in the workplace and accepting challenging and
unique designs ensures that the team can bring all their skills and
resources to the table.
7. To what extent does leadership in the design profession
depend on emotional intelligence? Could you give an instance
where it was very important?
My small team was facing pressure on several designs and incoming work.
The workflow meant that we had to0 much work to do in the agreed time
with the clients.
I encouraged my team that later hours for work would be rewarded with
either extra hours paid for or if they wanted the exact amount of time off
work that they worked outside of the base working hours. This motivated
my team to set more working hours to achieve the deadlines and different
team members took the different rewards offered.
Sometimes a bit of support when working late hours also encourages the
team that the leader is also there working the same hours and facing the
same challenges. This team-work environment seems to be a strong
motivating factor for more stressful and unique working challenges with
regards to designs and tight deadlines.
Challenges in Design Leadership
8. As a leader in the design industry, what are some of the most
difficult things you have had to deal with?
Setting realistic expectations with clients.
Setting realistic deadlines with clients.
Designing practical infrastructure that can be achieved with local
skills, knowledge and experience.
9. How do you resolve disputes in a creative team?
Certain clients have certain needs – based on the clients needs I evaluate
each team member’s skillset to ensure the design given to them are more
suited for their skillset. I encourage teamwork but I also encourage team
members to respect each other’s opinions.
When disputes arrive within the team I have experienced it is best to play
mediator ensuring each person’s opinions are clearly communicated and
try eliminating ambiguity between the conflicting members.
It is also important to assess each team member’s attitude insuring they
are fit for work despite any personal battles.
10. Have you had trouble keeping excellent designers on staff? If
yes, how have you tackled this problem?
Yes, with my experience best way to keep staff is to keep them motivated
and positive by creating a relaxed and well rewarding working
atmosphere.
11. How do you balance a strong design vision with client
demands?
Transparency – Setting realistic design ideas ensuring that what can
actually be achieved is well communicated ensuring the client
understands what can actually be practically built within the scope and
budget they have.
12. How can you maintain your flexibility in a field that is always
changing?
Personally, I have experienced that best way to keep up with the changing
world is to be able to adapt to the change. I personally try to keep up to
the new ways people design projects. This could be through use of new
tools, services or programs. Being on top of the new changes and
understanding where the change comes from has helped me stay ahead
of the curve ensuring the business can always be on track with the ever
growing design and implementation field.
Leadership Strategies and Decision-Making
13. How do you make decisions when juggling the demands of
your clients, budgetary limitations, and artistic freedom?
By creating set procedure and standards for the business. Also ensuring
what the client wants has been clearly communicated. We try to have a
standardised design approach, so clients know what to expect.
14. Which techniques do you employ to create and maintain a
solid, cooperative team culture?
Socials is a good way of maintaining good teamwork culture. It gives the
team a way of getting to know each other on a more personal level and
therefore the team becomes more cohesive.
15. Could you give an example of a moment when you had to
guide your group through a significant crisis or change? How did
you respond to it?
There was a unique design that was out of our normal besed standards
and procedures.
I decided to take the job. The team was not well suited with their existing
skillset to meet the client requirements.
My first approach was to give them more training and research to
encourage them with the correct skillset to meet the client requirements.
This seemed to work and also meant the team’s knowledge and
experience was expanding, this was very motivational as it then seemed
we had more confidence to take on more unique challenges.
The Future of Leadership in Design
16. Over the next ten years, how do you envision leadership in
the design sector changing?
I foresee leaders taking on more challenging work scopes to ensure
companies and teams are more equipped to take on unique challenges. I
also believe leaders should encourage new technology and programmes
to adapt to the changes of the built environment.
Personally I believe leaders should be more mindful of their team’s mood
and attitude towards their occupation – encouraging them that the field
can be seen in a more widely scope and using them to develop the
business into different divisions so that each individual can grow in their
career development.
17. What guidance would you provide prospective leaders in the
design industry?
Listen to your team and always provide support where needed even if it is
not work related. Teamwork is the largest driving factor in any business
and a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.
Take care of your employees and try maintaining a positive and cohesive
work environment where people feel they can speak freely without
judgement.
Encourage a business where individual career development can be
sustained.
18. How do you assess your leadership effectiveness?
I believe day-to-day feedback from employees reflects true leadership
within a business.
It is also essential to have annual exchanges/reviews between line
managers (Leaders) and their peers. Encouraging positive and negative
feedback to challenge team members to reflect on any changes they
could possibly make.
