flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 125: What Makes a Great Employee?

Life of an Architect Podcast

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 125: What Makes a Great Employee?

How do you define a great employee? The answer is most likely dependent on who is attempting to respond: the employee or the employer.


By Bob Borson, FAIA | May 15, 2023
Life of an architect episode 125 what makes a great employee
Illustration courtesy Life of an Architect

How do you define a great employee? The answer is most likely dependent on who is attempting to respond: the employee or the employer. I will concede that I have told previous employers that I would be the best employee they have ever had. And I actually meant it when I said it. Did it happen? I like to think so (at least once or twice), but it’s not for me to say. Andrew and I have been both employee and employer. We believe this topic deserves a little time in the spotlight. Welcome to Ep. 125: A Great Employee.

Special thanks to our sponsor Construction Specialties, maker of architectural building products designed to master the movement of buildings, people, and natural elements. Construction Specialties is so focused on the importance of mastering movement, that they have created a CEU specifically on mastering movement on the job site with modular stairs. Each course is worth 1 AIA LU/HSW and is part of the Mastering Movement Academy by CS. Visit masteringmovement.net to take this and other courses.

Related Stories

Life of an Architect Podcast | Jan 6, 2020

Changing Jobs

Changing jobs is exciting and terrifying at the same time, particularly if you are making a drastic change either in the type of work or the size of the firm–something I am experiencing at the moment. Today, we are talking about changing jobs, a topic that seems somewhat fitting given that it is the first podcast episode of 2020 and both Andrew and I have changed jobs. 

Life of an Architect Podcast | Dec 9, 2019

The Hypothetical Show

Consider this the “Director’s Cut” of hypothetical questions. We decided to dig back through all of 2019 and pull out our three most favorite questions and present them here in all their full-length unedited glory.

Life of an Architect Podcast | Nov 25, 2019

What to Get an Architect for Christmas [2019]

It’s that holiday time of the year. If you are lucky enough to have an architect in your life, and you are wondering what to get this special someone for Christmas, you’ve come to the right place.

Life of an Architect Podcast | Nov 11, 2019

Ask the Show

What music do you listen to? What’s your design process? What is your favorite building and why? What do you eat for breakfast? All this and more as Andrew and I answer your burning questions where almost nothing is off-limits. Episode sponsor: The Forge Prize 2020

Life of an Architect Podcast | Oct 28, 2019

Labor is Cheap, Skill is Not

Architecture and skilled craft go hand in hand, but you may not be aware that the number of skilled individuals that are required to bring an architect’s ideas to reality. In today’s episode, Andrew and I are talking about the state of skilled labor in the construction industry. This is not a subject that receives a ton of attention, but one that can have a big impact on the work of an architect. Episode sponsor: CONSTRUCT

Life of an Architect Podcast | Oct 14, 2019

Architecture and Math

If you ever thought about being an architect but thought you couldn’t handle the math, you aren’t alone. At parties across the land, as soon as someone finds out there is an architect in the crowd, there is a story being told about how they wanted to be an architect but since they couldn’t draw or weren’t very good at math they decided to do something else. Episode sponsor: CENTRIA

Life of an Architect Podcast | Sep 30, 2019

Let’s Get Physical

Architectural models are clearly within the architect’s domain, but are you within the “physical models are better” or “digital models are better” camp? That’s the subject matter today as we discuss architectural models and their role in the creative process in a modern architectural office. Episode sponsor: Petersen Aluminum

Life of an Architect Podcast | Sep 16, 2019

Taking the Architectural Registration Exam

Since Andrew and I completed our architectural registration exams in a previous decade than the one we are currently in, we brought in someone a bit younger to assist us with today’s topic, someone who has just recently gone through the process of taking the ARE. Welcome back to the show, my former podcast co-conspirator, Landon Williams. Episode sponsor: Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings

Life of an Architect Podcast | Sep 3, 2019

Projects in Architecture School are Silly

The projects that architects-in-training work on while in school are rarely about solving practical problems and issues—the real objectives are almost always lurking just below the surface. Your projects from architecture school are silly, but for good reasons. Episode sponsor: CONSTRUCT

Life of an Architect Podcast | Aug 19, 2019

Obsession

Do architects have obsessive personalities? I tend to think so, and only partially based on my own behavior. I should throw out the caveat that I don’t think you should have to explain why you obsess over something. Isn’t that the nature of any obsession—that there is some level of irrationality associated behind it? Episode sponsor: NUDURA

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Life of an Architect Podcast

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 161: Wow Moments

It happens on every project—sometimes you know exactly what it is because you had a hand in bring it into existence. Other times, you might be visiting the work of another architect … but if you look around, you can always find that something special that seemed to get just a little more attention than the rest of the project.



Life of an Architect Podcast

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 159: Ask the Show Fall 2024

It is time for the second and last installment of the Life of an Architect “Ask the Show” episode for 2024. Once again, as is our practice we solicited questions to be submitted through our Instagram channels and selected as many as we thought we could reasonably get through in the time allocated for the show. All this and more on today’s episode as Andrew and I answer your burning questions.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021