The M Factor

We just hired two new architecture graduates in our office. The teacher in me moved me to sit down and plot out the training they should receive while working on our projects. Among the things they need to learn and experience is to supervise people. The simplest way for me to approach this is to tell them about the M Factor.... M for Maturity.

It's one of those things I learned in the many, many trainings and seminars I attended in the past. People's maturity in terms of their work attitude can be classed into four, depending on their capabilities and their interest in the task. These maturity levels are simply called M1, M2, M3, and M4. How you should treat a person depends on their maturity levels.

M4 people are considered to be matured. They are interested in their work and they are capable of carrying out their task, if not highly qualified. The best way to treat them, if they are under your supervision, is to let them be. Meddling would only hinder their efficiency. But you need to make sure that they are on track in terms of shared goals... Thus you only need to remind them about it in whatever way appropriate.

M3 people may be capable but they are not so interested in their work. They might have been forced by circumstance to fulfill the task. They need a lot of coaching... of encouragement... With a lot of patience, they can move on to become M4's.

M2 people, on the other hand, are very interested to fulfill a task although they are neither knowledgeable about it nor do they have the skills to fulfill it. For some there is that ardent desire to learn. For others there is that nostalgia of fulfilling a dream. On the practical sphere, one only needs to teach them the knowledge and skills they lack. Again, with patience, they can move on to become M4's.

M1 people are those who are neither interested on their work nor are they capable of carrying out their work for lack of skills, knowledge, or some other disabilities. They need to be coached. They need to be taught. The question is: when do we raise the white flag?

I very seldom give up on a person. I spur them on no matter what. Sometime, though, they themselves give up. Anyway, it's a case to case basis...

It is important of course to match assigned task to maturity levels. I always believe that there is always a task that M1's can do that can contribute to the team, even if it requires them to simply carry something or the like... Each one in the team should also acknowledge each one's maturity level, and respect each other.

This little lesson on the M Factor is applicable not only to the construction site. It has helped me even in my dealings with people in executive board rooms. Believe it or not, even the rich and powerful can sometimes be immature. I've also handled geniuses who showed immaturity to some extent. But there is a task to accomplish, and these people somehow find their way into your team.

There is then the need to assess each person's maturity level early on. It requires another set of skills to do so. Sometimes I engage them in a "diagnostic" conversation. Complicated personalities require a little more research. The bottom line is to know your men before you lead them.

I hope these two new hires would learn the tricks soon....

Out-Sourced

I always get asked by architects to recommend the best students in the graduating batch for them to hire. Perhaps it is because I'm in the academe and, therefore, would be familiar with the skills of the students. Recently I received a handful of requests. I decided to sit down and write the names of the noteworthy ones, and where they are now. This exercise revealed something very interesting.... I have heard that many architecture graduates went to call centers, but the good ones have also ended up in a similar venture... outsourcing.

Outsourcing is a very lucrative business. You only need to establish a contact abroad, then a computer at home with auto cad, and finally an internet connection so you can chat with your client about the project in real time. The clients pay in dollars and the outsourcing agents always charge a fee much, much lower than the client's hometown market rate.

Architecture graduates, and even full pledged architects, flock to outsourcing companies simply for the pay. The work has its own stress centers... particularly irregular time and the tendency to remain an auto cad encoder the rest of your life. If they're lucky, they might get assigned to a more "architectural" task like designing and supervising construction. The pay, though, is really good.

There are other reasons why they go to outsourcing centers. Some are not confident to practice, others simply want a hassle free work. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is the pay.

With people going to outsourcing companies, I now have a hard time getting good people for my practicing friends. It seems to me that even if all my architect friends would team up and give a chance for new graduates to shine they would eventually get frustrated. That is, of course, unless they match the salary. But here's where the weighing scale tips out of balance...

Outsourcing pays much for low level skills... computer drafting. Many of the people I know who works in outsourcing centers are not even proficient in auto cad when they entered. The architects, however, can not match the salary considering that the new hires would be inexperienced. They have to learn the tricks within the firm and their salary can only increase if they show that they are learning, and improving.

I have nothing against outsourcing centers. I even tried it for a month to see how it operates. And there are outsourcing centers who hire for a notch higher level of skills, like rendering. I just realized that it is getting more difficult to find people to train. The bright side of it is simply this... what is happening right now is a good way to determine who are really determined to practice architecture.