Our research into how architects are transforming themselves into Integrated Service Providers is showing us both their challenges and the rewards. Interestingly, two-thirds of the firms we contacted tell us that they have been presented with opportunities to provide services beyond that for which they first contracted. The firms define these opportunities as a means of improving the effectiveness of the design project and exceeding the client's expectations for the design and performance of the project. The other third of firms see these opportunities as a chance to view the work from a broader point of view and anticipate and understand the client's strategy. They see value beyond a particular client or project and look to an emerging strategy within an emerging marketplace.

Case studies
Two case studies we are working on are helping us understand one part of the integration process, namely the importance of consciously integrating individual and group work behaviors.

The Sparling case study involves a firm that has established various specialties and one separate consulting group. They tell us that the success of their work has exceeded client expectations. The staff constantly looks for ways to integrate their services more effectively and have identified a need for further training and knowledge in three major areas:
• Assisting team members better understand each other's preferred work style
• Creating a common language about different work types that is useable for both firm and project issues
• Advancing the project integration team efforts while applying the needed behavioral information.

The Page Southerland Page case study involves a firm that encompasses the disciplines of architecture, engineering, programming and strategic consulting, planning and landscape architecture, interiors, and historic structure documentation. This firm, formed as an integrated service provider, has defined and established training focused on:
• Each person being skilled in a specialty
• Each person knowing and respecting the expertise of others
• Each person agreeing to definitions of everyone's "realm" and trusting in each other
• Defined expertise in a focused area, with knowledge of the value of the overall
• All having confidence in the strategy and the firm.

Understanding work style, developing a common language, being skilled, respecting the knowledge of others, and having confidence in an overall strategy are consistent to the successful integrated service providers.

These case studies point up two major trends:
• Establishment of the knowledge-management networks—within firms and other professionals alliances—that can be shared throughout the profession. These networks provide a knowledge base for the integrated service profession.
• Increased value of the firm—and the profession at large—when collaboration replaces typical homogeneity. Collaboration recognizes and values professional diversity as well as racial and gender diversity. It requires an understanding of personal behavioral styles and how they affect a professional group.

Tools for optimizing individual performance within the group
Architects who wish to become integrated service providers are thus challenged to understand the various roles and attitudes of different professionals within a group. Following is a synopsis of two resources that can provide increased self-awareness and show how one can influence, relate, and improve the interaction between team members.

One such resource is the DiSC Personal Profile System self-assessment tool, from Inscape Publishing, designed to help clarify self-knowledge and how your behavior can affect your response to a particular work situation. Based on the research of Dr. William Marston, it can help you be aware of all the viewpoints that relate to a particular client situation. It is self-scored and self-interpreted (on either paper or the Web) so that respondents may keep their information private. The DiSC system identifies attitudes related to a particular project or role you are playing in the office. This differs from the Myers-Briggs approach, which relates more to basic internal preferences that do not change situationally.

Design teams can pair the DiSC profile system with Inscape Publishing's Innovate with C.A.R.E. profile, which deals with roles and responsibilities for establishing high-performance team results. The C.A.R.E. profile offers an insightful approach to acknowledging the various roles within an overall project team and how to fill in the gaps if any of those roles are missing.

The C.A.R.E. profile asks you to describe how you tend to think and behave when working with others to accomplish a specific task. You learn which patterns you are most comfortable taking:
• The Creator pattern emphasizes conceptual and spontaneous approaches to a task
• The Advancer pattern recognizes ideas and new directions in the early stages of a team project and develops ways to promote them
• The Refiner pattern challenges concepts to detect flaws and correct them before proceeding
• The Executor pattern produces an individual who follows up on team objectives and implements ideas and solutions.

If there is an individual on the team who is balanced fairly equally with all four approaches, that person has what is called the Facilitator pattern.

This information benefits integrated teams when a gap in roles is identified or if the team is off balance with too many members with the same pattern. Once the team understands the roles that could make them effective, one or more members can adjust their behaviors and roles on the team (using both the DiSC information from the Personal Profile). Interestingly, research to correlate the patterns from the DiSC system and C.A.R.E. profile indicates that they measure different aspects of human behavior; one cannot predict scores of the other.

Human behavior patterns and style will play a major role in the future of a broader profession and with integrated service providers. What other trends are you seeing in your shift toward integrated service provider? Send your thoughts to rhobbs@richardwhobbs.com.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.