What does it mean to lead an A+D practice today? And what does it take to be a firm leader? Who is part of the team leading the firm? What are the leadership team roles? What processes and tools do we need? Get into the mindset of success with business consultant and leadership coach, Elisabeth Sporer, AIA CIC.

In this informative presentation, Elisabeth will discuss the skills an A+D practice leader needs to master—from knowing who they are with its limits and opportunities; to building and leading BRAND / FINANCE / OPERATIONS / DESIGN teams; to stewarding firm culture; and to staying on top of best practices.

Elisabeth will elaborate on why personality tests matter, how to assemble BRAND / FINANCE / OPERATIONS / DESIGN teams [with individual’s roles and best practices on processes/tools] and how to create strategies around leadership transitions.

Topics include:

• LEADERSHIP: the elements of a strategic plan
• OPERATIONS: ways to lay out an org chart w/ roles & responsibilities
• DESIGN + PRACTICE: attracting, retaining, and developing talent
• BRAND: what does marketing + BD + PR mean
• FINANCE: financial management

Learning Objectives (1 LU)

Participants will:

• discern how the different parts of an A+D firm’s structure are related
• gain an understanding of necessary steps of leadership training
• add to their knowledge of best practices for leadership team roles and responsibilities
• be able to adapt best practices in leadership transitions for their business

About the Host

Elisabeth Sporer, AIA, LEED AP, CIC
A+D Business Strategist and SO|arch Founder

Elisabeth Sporer works with CEOs, founders and leadership teams to build successful A+D firms through an integral approach that combines business strategy consulting with leadership coaching. Based in Northern California, she has presented at major AIA chapters in the region, including AIA Los Angles, AIA SF, AIA East Bay and AIA Central Valley, on topics like international practice [“Unlearning the Metric System” in 2019], mentorship [“High Performance Mentorship” in 2020], entrepreneurship [“The Free Solo Practice” in 2019] and business strategy [“Blueprint for Success” in 2020 and “Think-Time Tuesdays: Inside the A+D Studio” in 2021]. She holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architecture Design from Columbia University in The City of New York and a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture, both from TU Berlin.