This solves everything! Now we must create a three-letter acronym so it fits in a sexy box.

The Leadership Circle of Life

Susan Mitchell-Ketzes

Some of the most important leadership lessons I’ve ever learned came from a Disney movie.

My daughter, Katie Rose, and I have watched The Lion King dozens of times together. Even if you haven’t seen it, you probably know that a theme of the movie is the circle of life. We’re born, we grow, we learn, we reproduce, we get old, and the sun sets on us before rising on the next generation.

In the leadership circle of life, senior leaders bring up the next generation to replace themselves. These chosen individuals experience life, get knocked around a bit, and when the time comes for them to replace their elders, often discover that leadership comes with many challenges. But they work hard to succeed, and the process repeats.

As HOK’s chief talent officer, I am responsible for providing support to the firm’s leaders, giving them what they need to succeed while cultivating our next generation of leaders. This philosophy of building a practice by providing environments where young people can grow was the approach of our three founders — George Hellmuth, Gyo Obata, and George Kassabaum — and is how we continue to strengthen HOK’s leadership circle of life.

We can’t be complacent about leadership — it needs to be dynamic and alive. Today we’re looking closely at every part of the firm to identify what’s working and what we can improve. We’re hiring and seeking out existing talented leaders, articulating our expectations, assessing their performance, and supporting their development.

Now More Than Ever

Everything changed in 2008. The recession has forced us to make fundamental changes to how we do business and to acknowledge that the architecture profession will not be returning to business as usual. To prosper in the new normal, our leaders are reinventing how we work. HOK has not been afraid to lead. We have demonstrated the ability to pursue new services, locations, markets, and technologies.

When we envision HOK in 2020, we see a truly global firm. The majority of our growth over the next decade will occur on the edges of our current practice, in locations throughout Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. We need strong, entrepreneurial, and local leaders to guide our growth in these areas.

Many of HOK’s current leaders are Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Behind them are Generation X professionals who have attained a level of professional achievement but whose advancement may have been capped by Boomers ahead of them. One of our most urgent needs is for current experienced leaders in every corner of HOK — design, management, operations, business development and marketing, and corporate infrastructure — to share their wisdom and begin mentoring the next generation of high-potential leaders.

In locations across the firm we are transitioning senior principals into mentoring roles, making space for third-generation leaders to step up and grow. And despite the current economic environment, we are continuing to invest heavily in leadership development programs.

Sustainable Leadership Development

Sustainability is about more than creating environmentally responsible buildings. By grooming new leaders and developing succession plans, we’re creating a sustainable, resilient organization that can adapt to changing market conditions.

Identifying and developing leaders is an evergreen process, not an event to focus on when there is nothing else to do. We’re building leadership development into the organization as part of the root system that nourishes our culture and allows us to grow.

In addition to seeking top-down direction from senior people, we solicit bottom-up advice from the brightest, youngest, most creative people — staff members who have fires in their bellies and ideas burning holes through their heads. We’re giving this up-and-coming generation a voice through a series of “pulse groups.” Staying close to these groups keeps us connected to the heartbeat of the practice — the young people who will lead us into the next decades.

For most of our history, HOK has built its practice by winning projects and doing the best work. Going forward, our business strategy is to build a culture of great leaders while continuing to do innovative, sustainable, and helpful work around the planet. Making people the heart of our practice will position us to keep winning and delivering our share of projects.

Recognizing and Growing Talent

We can’t determine who our best leaders are until we articulate the attributes we value. This is where the process of leadership development begins — by defining how people should lead, not what they should do.

HOK’s Portrait of a Leader evaluation tool defines what it means to lead and then assesses people against a pyramid model that places character, integrity and quality at its foundation. Building on these attributes are thought leadership, financial performance, client-getting and client-keeping, and vision. At the top of the pyramid, a true leader emerges. This person acts to achieve HOK’s core values, mission and culture; serves clients flawlessly; owns his or her own personal development; drives integration of sustainable design; promotes diversity; creates a collaborative environment; removes barriers; and communicates effectively.

We measure HOK’s leaders against these attributes through annual self-assessments and 360-degree reviews by peers, subordinates, and supervisors. Our Talent Card Game is a method for current leaders to evaluate staff at all levels by assigning them green (ready to lead), yellow (good in current role; needs growth to lead) or red (limited career with current behavior) dots in various areas. We’re working to eliminate the red dots, to fill in gaps where there are yellows, and to elevate the greens.

After finding and assessing leaders, we give them opportunities to develop through our talent management system. This system starts with the leadership portrait and an assessment of where they are followed by setting specific goals for everyone and providing resources such as coaching to help them achieve their goals. They know exactly how they’re doing and can course correct if they get off track.

For years we threw new leaders into the fray and hoped they would do well. In 2009, we improved this sink-or-swim method by launching a leadership orientation program for newly hired senior employees. We invite new employees from all locations to our St. Louis office to get briefed on “HOK 101” and the network of offices, firm-wide groups, and strategic initiatives. This two-day leadership on-boarding event includes orienting new leaders to the Portrait of a Leader model and exploring innovations taking place throughout the firm. The goal is to provide connections to valuable resources across HOK that new leaders will be able to access as needed.

We have developed a systematic, consistent process for coaching and mentoring leaders. This training covers project leadership excellence, conflict resolution, and how to have fierce (honest and direct) conversations. We give leaders stretch projects that challenge them and keep their skills fresh, allowing them to hone the skills that will help them lead at high levels.

One of our most successful new programs is a peer buddy system. Here, we connect new senior-level people with established, successful peers who perform a similar function in another office. A new managing principal in New York, for example, might be linked to a respected managing principal in Los Angeles. Creating this relationship gives a new leader a remarkable opportunity to learn from and be supported by an accomplished peer.

Sharing, Moving, and Elevating

The next step in building a culture of leaders involves sharing, moving, and elevating existing talented staff.

HOK fills leadership openings by looking for opportunities to promote from within before seeking outside candidates. Historically, the firm has had a culture of mild self-consciousness or even self-deprecation. We would get enamored by a hotshot from a rival firm who, in our minds, would be better than one of our own people. But our experience shows that elevating our existing leaders to senior positions is often more effective than bringing in an outsider. This method also motivates employees and reduces costs and turnover. We can already see our new hire programs decreasing the learning curve and increasing productivity quicker for these key leaders.

One of our most effective senior leaders has helped establish or transform several HOK offices. He has recently moved to Hong Kong to bring his expertise as the new leader of our Asia-Pacific practice. In the process, he has become the first member of HOK’s Executive Committee to live outside the United States ─ a great step in our journey to become truly global.

Another way we’re elevating existing talent is by exposing high-potential people to different disciplines and regions. Last year, HOK launched a program to share our internal talent throughout offices. We also have created a talent exchange program that allows two individuals to trade places with each other for a three-month period so they can work on projects in a new region, enjoy a different culture, and share experiences with colleagues. These programs have triggered a cultural shift in thinking creatively about everyday work arrangements, remote work assignments, permanent moves, and temporary short-term relocations. In 2009, we shared people from 14 global locations — creating adventures for our high-potential talent and probably saving jobs in the process.

A star architect from HOK’s science and technology group in St. Louis recently spent half a year in our Singapore office to help with a high-profile hospital project. During this experience she was exposed to a variety of HOK leaders and the unique culture of an Asia-Pacific office. When she returned, she was able to share her experiences, challenges, and opportunities with co-workers and take on greater leadership responsibilities.

This year, a talented young landscape architect from Atlanta temporarily relocated to Hong Kong to work on a regional planning project. While there, she trained Asia-Pacific colleagues on using new building information modeling software.

We make it a priority to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our talented people. On our Life at HOK blog (hoklife.com), we have empowered HOK’s people to share their experiences and those of their colleagues with the world. In our internal HOK Today e-newsletter, articles acknowledge employee achievements across all levels of the firm. Faces of HOK, an ongoing series of e-mail messages from our Executive Committee, showcases individuals and teams — the faces behind the projects. A new award for tangible progress in sustainability named for our chairman, Bill Valentine, is traveling around the world to recognize offices and teams. Finally, First Thursday (or First Friday) is a monthly event hosted by each local office to update employees on office news and achievements.

Motivating and Keeping Talent

The final phase of our leadership life cycle is motivating and keeping talented people at HOK. Rather than using traditional carrot-and-stick reward and punishment methods, we have based our approach on three key human motivators that Daniel Pink describes in his book Drive: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy is the need to direct our own lives. We want to put leaders in environments that are conducive to success and then let them determine how to get there.

In 2007, we gave 200 HOK leaders an unprecedented opportunity for autonomy by bringing them to our Blue Ocean Leadership Charrette in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Attendees were encouraged to think about what they truly cared about and how to translate their dreams and passions into new services and products. We also issued invitations to 20 younger, talented leaders who brought new ways of thinking and a palpable energy to the event.

Out of this charrette emerged HOK’s ongoing Blue Ocean Strategy, a systematic process for identifying, nurturing, and funding innovative ideas and business concepts. Based on the Blue Ocean business concept of finding new and uncontested business opportunities, this program encourages HOK people to submit ideas to a board made up of HOK leaders and outside entrepreneur advisors. The Idea Board selects finalists to present their concepts and earn the funding required to bring them to market as new business for HOK.

One outcome of our venture into the Blue Ocean, HOK Product Design LLC, gives designers an opportunity to tap into their creativity to collaborate with manufacturing partners to develop and market products for the built environment. The senior leader from our interiors practice who created the inspiration for and is now directing this business has been both reenergized and phenomenally productive in her new role.

Most HOK offices are equipped with an advanced collaboration room that incorporates high-quality videoconferencing and a virtual whiteboard system. These state-of-the-art rooms allow for real-time sharing of ideas and drawings worldwide. Staff can collaborate with clients and colleagues without disrupting their lives with travel.

We want leaders to be fulfilled in their personal lives so they can be energized and productive in their work lives. HOK supports flexible work schedules, and numerous employees work from home a day or two per week or adapt their work schedules to individual and family needs. In addition to alternative work schedules, our range of benefits includes domestic partner and adoption benefits, paternity leave, a robust wellness program, and executive financial planning assistance. The goal is to focus on the whole person and to allow people to direct their own lives.

Mastery is people’s innate desire to continue improving in their profession and as human beings. Helping people understand where they are and how we expect them to improve helps satisfy their need for mastery. Our Portrait of a Leader articulates expectations and ensures that people know what their goals as leaders should be.

After using the Harvard Business School Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard to help clients link design strategy to business measurements for years, we recently have adapted it for internal use. The Balanced Scorecard focuses leaders on four key areas critical to HOK’s success: design and delivery, people, client service, and finance. Asking people to be accountable for all four domains makes them more masterful and better, more well-rounded leaders.

In the past, many senior HOK leaders had never been reviewed or received substantial feedback on their performance; most sorely missed that opportunity. In January 2009, we made the audacious promise that each of our 2,000-plus employees would have a substantive performance review that year under a consistent system. At 9:34 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2009, a Beijing employee’s performance review was submitted to get us to 100 percent complete. We’re now using the results of these reviews to help leaders be as successful as they can be.

Purpose is the final motivator. People want to know that what they do serves something larger than themselves — that their work matters.

HOK’s culture encourages generosity and volunteerism. Each local office supports charitable and community organizations and events. HOK participates in Public Architecture’s 1% program, which connects nonprofit organizations in need of design assistance with firms willing to donate their time.

In 2005 for the 50th anniversary of HOK’s founding, our leaders decided not to throw big parties across the world. Instead, we donated $500,000 for a new diagnostic and treatment center in rural southeastern Kenya. This resonated strongly with our people and continues to make a difference in thousands of people’s lives in Africa.

A key purpose for HOK is to effect change in the greening of the built environment. This year we introduced HOK’s Sustainability Roadmap. The Roadmap reinforces the notion that sustainability is a business imperative and provides a path for achieving sustainability goals, actions, and measures for our clients and ourselves. We’re rolling out this Roadmap across HOK in our projects and our practice. We are offering a $25,000 reward to the team that creates the first project to achieve net zero site energy and another $25,000 for the first project that achieves net zero energy emissions. We want people to understand and feel proud of the important contributions HOK can make to clients and the planet.

In 2008, we implemented a firm-wide community service initiative that challenged each office to complete a service activity involving all employees. We donated thousands of work hours and materials to these projects, which included renovating schools, rehabilitating urban parks, rebuilding an orphanage, engaging with government officials to preserve an historic site, and contributing to earthquake relief efforts.

Our new Circle of Trust Women’s Leadership Program is giving talented women at every level of HOK the opportunity to strengthen themselves and each other by building a network of mentors and peer coaches. In 2009, we invested in a series of retreats to launch this program by bringing a number of talented HOK women together in Atlanta. We’re continuing to develop this community, and in addition to the retreats, we hold monthly videoconferences for graduates around the world. These meetings help ensure that each person’s purpose is being fulfilled.

Making a Difference Across the World

Early HOK geographic expansion occurred through a parachute program. We took good people from our founding office in St. Louis — and later from other U.S. offices — and dropped them into a location such as San Francisco or Washington, D.C., where we had large projects. These leaders were charged with growing the project offices into major practice centers.
This expansion approach evolved into a pioneer program. We began to move strong leaders to international locations, where they sought out and hired strong local leaders. These pioneers eventually moved on to other uncharted territories, leaving the local leaders and their new teams to grow, expand, and prosper.

Though the parachute and pioneer programs worked for HOK in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, those strategies are not as effective in today’s highly volatile, competitive, and complex world.

Today we are expanding our practice through a promotion program. We are relocating strong leaders to international locations —Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong — and asking them to stay and build the leadership, staff, and client bases in those regions. The succession plan is for them to promote their hand-selected people to top positions, give them the tools they need to thrive, and then, while watching them flourish, continue to mentor and support them. With so much of our future growth projected to come from the outlying areas of our current practice, this growth and leadership strategy will be critical.

It is becoming increasingly important to seed our international offices and leverage exchange programs in which high-potential young designers from Shanghai or Singapore, for example, might rotate through the Washington or San Francisco office to work under the mentorship of a senior designer for a period of time. Rotating talented mid-level people through different offices allows them to experience how the HOK culture is expressed through various locations and projects. It encourages them to take these values back to their own offices. As they do this, they develop an invaluable network of friends, connections, and potential teammates that previously would have taken decades to build.

We are implementing this talent exchange program while continuing to hold periodic face-to-face meetings, creating special group projects for leaders across the world, and improving our ability to work together through even more sophisticated advanced collaboration rooms. Giving people the opportunity to lead and grow together will gradually break down divisions between regions and disciplines. Before long, we will be able to celebrate our diversity within the context of a closely networked, truly international HOK that is making a difference across the world — one leader at a time.

For now, our expectations for HOK’s leaders are clear: Get things done. Communicate. Be bold and decisive. Know that character is everything. If you’re not absolutely lit up and loving it, change it. And remember that the generations of leaders who came before you — the kings of our firm’s past — are looking down on you from the stars, watching over and guiding you as you take your place in HOK’s leadership circle of life.