The application period for SDA Fellows is now open and ends October 31. Earlier in the month we shared the results of interviews with our fellows and the four surprising benefits of earning the FSDA.

But the surprises didn’t stop there. Again and again, Fellows identified the FSDA application as a road map not only to Fellowship, but to career advancement and personal satisfaction. And, most notably, you don’t need to be ready to apply to become a Fellow to reap the benefits immediately. It’s an easy path to follow for career growth and professional development today.

Road Marker #1 - Fill in the Gaps to Advance at Work

It could be that you don’t meet all of the Fellows criteria right now, but have a personal goal of one day achieving Fellow status. Sarah Wallace says “consider using the application to augment your annual review and ask for assistance from firm leaders to help achieve any of the missing areas.”  It could be something like getting involved in your local SDA, AIA or other AEC industry professional organizations or making a presentation at one of their monthly programs. “Doing this will not only benefit your growth and achievement, but will also help your firm through increased marketing and networking exposure,” says Wallace.  In addition, these activities will help you stand out in your firm.

Road Marker #2 -  Self Motivation

Accomplishing the goal of becoming a Fellow requires self motivation. “The mere act of identifying a goal and mastering your motivation, meaning you identify the outcomes you want, break them down into realistic accomplishments for today and tomorrow, and the next day, and see your plan through is a skill that every person should strive to acquire”, states Deborah Gill. Setting and achieving goals can be applied to many parts of your life, especially your career path. “Right now, for example, everyone is in a virtual world with so many more distractions vying for their time and energy that they can feel overwhelmed,” Gill notes. “If you can develop the path to Fellow for yourself – motivation, goals, tasks – this skillset can be applied to any aspect of your career.”

Road Marker #3 - Visibility in the Office and in the A/E/C Profession

SDA members are knowledgeable in many subject areas. Now is the time to become known as the subject matter expert in your firm.  “Visibility is key, so speaking and writing allows you to gain visibility and credibility, and thus, grow in your career,” said Gill.

It could be that you had to do a lot of research for some effort in your firm. Take the next step and write an article or white paper with an executive summary and submit it to SDA for publication. Or, make a presentation on the topic to your executive team and consider doing the same for your chapter or during a national roundtable discussion. These are great next steps that increase your personal knowledge, advance your firm, and keep you moving toward the ultimate goal of becoming a Fellow. As a result, you will see your value rise in your firm.

Becoming a Fellow is a great way to recognize knowledgeable and veteran members “for their continued and sustained involvement in SDA and contribution to the industry” said Betsy Nickless.  “Once we’ve been through the full cycle of chapter leadership and national leadership, it’s an opportunity to continue to further the organization.” 

The visibility earned with FSDA extends beyond SDA and your firm. Said Debra Ellis “I think that the word Fellow seems to hold a higher “prestige” in the A/E world and that could help to elevate your career.”  

Road Marker #4 - Roads Less Traveled are Terrific Career Paths

Too often we hear from SDA members claiming to be “just” an administrator or “just” (insert your personal “just” statement here). Truth is, now more than ever, administrators are primed to rule the A/E/C world. Need proof? “Just” listen to Simon Goodhead’s EDConnect20 presentation “Why Administrators Just Might Rule the World”. 

But where to begin? Start with the FSDA application. The Fellowship criteria can be an impactful first step on a path that you might not have considered taking, but one that will lead you to a brighter, more satisfying, secure and higher paid future.  Judy Beebe shared “I think the Fellow criteria alone can set you on a career path that you might not have taken to begin with. I think if you’re just starting out in the A/E/C industry, you can use the criteria as additional goals to meet, while you’re learning and gaining more experience on the job.”

Road Marker #5 - A Sense of Accomplishment

When you reach a big goal that you have set out to accomplish, there is a tremendous, earned sense of pride. “I think SDA members will find the Fellowship application process to be the next natural progression on their personal and professional development journey,” said Beebe. “The initial step of becoming a CDFA shows you know and understand the industry’s practices; becoming a Fellow shows you’ve put yourself out there to also share your knowledge and skills with others outside of your firm and outside of your SDA chapter.” Beebe continued, “for me, becoming a Fellow was another accomplishment in my career – one that felt right.”

On the path of life or the career path “it’s never too late to be who you might have been.” (George Eliot) The Fellows of SDA invite you to come along in what could be the road trip of your career life. Just follow the signs. Here’s your first stop. Learn more here.

Prior to COVID-19, my firm was already using Zoom as a communication tool for our phone system and for videoconference calls across our six locations. We had administrative staff in every location, so we were used to seeing each other on a screen when we came together as a large group for our monthly team meetings. As our firm’s administration team manager, I was flying to our various locations to meet with our administrative staff face-to-face when possible. However, managing a team during a pandemic, where everything changed for everyone, created new challenges. In an instant, I needed to change how I managed the team including how we communicated with each other, how we partnered together to best serve our firm, and how I needed to advocate for them in new ways.

It quickly became evident that our administration team was going to be at the core of how our firm quickly moved to a work-from-home model effectively and efficiently. Our leadership was meeting daily, and I was in those meetings to take minutes, so I had access to pieces of information that could be shared with our administration team. I started by sending daily emails to the team about “what’s new for the day” as leadership was trying to figure out all the nuances of working from home. I wanted to make sure our team had as much information as possible because I knew their offices and teams were going to go first to them looking for answers. To help lift morale through all the multiple changes, I made sure to thank them for their hard work and perseverance through it all, as well including a funny meme or video at the end of each email.

We also knew that because decisions were being made daily, and that there was a lot of information to take in, we needed a single place to put all of it and communicate about it in one place. We began using Microsoft Teams immediately, sharing posts to the whole group (eliminating back and forth emails), posting files for all to see and edit in one place, and developed a Wiki of resources, instructions, and information for quick reference. We continue to use our Teams site today, adding new content and sharing best practices with each other outside of our meetings.

Now that we were even more physically distanced from each other it became even more critical to meet more often. We went from meeting as a large group on a monthly basis to meeting weekly. During these meetings we focus on what we have going on that week, who needs assistance, news from leadership, changes in policy, and any new software tips. We also started meeting weekly as small groups by office location. Our small group meetings are more informal where we focus on getting to know each other better and learning how we can support each other not only with work tasks and responsibilities, but also through the emotions of working in a pandemic.

I have found that by meeting more often, our team feels more connected and stronger. The challenges have not gone away and are often the same challenges we would still face if we were back in our offices, but we have had an opportunity to connect on a more personal level which has helped increase the level of trust we share, and our collective positive spirit works to lift each other up even when things in our world appear so negative at times.

By connecting and meeting more, I have learned more about our individual team members – what they like, don’t like, what is hard for them, what they are great at, what do they value, where do they want to go in their career, and much more. While I knew some of these things prior to COVID-19, gathering this information has been more critical as we are working to move away from a location-based support model to a strengths-based model. I want to be able to assign our team members to tasks and projects based on their knowledge, skills and passions. While this isn’t always possible due to availability and workloads, this enables our team to be more flexible and offer the best service possible for the task or project at hand.

Working from home and knowing our team members abilities also opens doors for our team members to work with other staff in other locations, including other leaders that they don’t regularly support. It provides them with opportunities to develop new skills, work on different project types, and most importantly, shine bright.

We recently needed to update a spreadsheet that contained over 2,000 line items by reviewing the corresponding changes on several floor plans. Over the course of a week, we had about seven team members working on it to finish it up. Not only were we able to finish the task much faster than if one person had been assigned to complete it, but we were able to share our tips and even bond over the mutual frustration with a difficult task. It proved to us and other staff that we are a strong team that is willing to work hard together to get the job done well, all while doing it virtually from six different offices at the same time.

I have also noticed the increased need in my abilities to advocate for our team and individual team members. I am asking myself the following questions on a regular basis now:

• Are they being asked to do something they shouldn’t be doing?
• Are they burned out?
• Are they struggling with a task or assignment?

As their manager, I have needed to learn how to read the signs of an employee struggling or in distress, and then follow up with them to see how I can be a resource, advocate or sounding board to support them. Sometimes, employees are fearful to speak up about concerns and need someone to simply ask them how they are doing or express concern in a sincere way. Our teams are tired, stressed and overwhelmed more than ever now. While we cannot solve all problems, we can make sure our team members know we can be trusted to listen to them, care about them as a person, and if needed speak on their behalf and in their best interest to make it better wherever possible.

Managing a remote team is no easy task, but implementing some key practices for communication, partnering with other team members, and advocacy will enable your team to work well and positively even in a pandemic. What are some of the successful ways you are managing your remote team during this time? Share them in the comment box below.

Danika Larson, CDFA is the Administration Team Manager at Cuningham Architecture Group in Minneapolis, MN.

She currently serves as the National Education Services Committee Chair for the 2020-2021 term.