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Atlanta, GA—As the first female to hold the company’s top leadership position, Janet Simpson, President of tvsdesign, a 52-year-old global architectural firm, has stood out in a male-dominated field within the architectural design industry.
“Leadership is challenging in any situation. Both the firm and the architecture industry are well established with baseline behaviors and assumptions about what creates a thriving firm and industry,” observes Simpson. “What I have observed, is that when you challenge the status quo by questioning existing frameworks, then people are faced with a choice to engage with you or find a reason to dismiss you, which usually comes in the form of criticism. So yes, it is challenging but I don’t think of it as challenges due to a male-dominated industry as much as challenges due to an industry that has the benefit and curse of being well established.”
At the helm of tvsdesign for the last 3 years, Simpson believes women should have no hesitation about seeking and taking leadership roles.
“You have to lead from a place of firm conviction about what you are trying to accomplish and what your values are that drive how you accomplish goals. Know when you need to take some time to get clear with yourself about what you are doing and why,” advises Simpson.
47% of tvsdesign is made up of women. Additionally, 25% of the women are in leadership roles, a rarity in the architectural field. Two of the top roles, president and CFO, are held by women and approximately 17 languages are spoken at the firm.
“The culture at tvsdesign has naturally attracted a diverse talent pool that helps the firm thrive. That culture existed when I came to tvsdesign in 2007 and I certainly continue to nurture it. We have 10 core behaviors that set an expectation that we strive to have an environment of mutual respect, valuing different perspectives and helping each other,” says Simpson.
The biggest challenge for the industry is attracting diverse talent so that there is healthy diversity in the profession, Simpson tells GlobeSt.com.
Some of Simpson’s most memorable projects are Fiserv, a financial services technology firm, and Mattress Firm. Her work with Fiserv spanned multiple years, projects and job titles.
“I am proud of the work and I learned so much about business strategy, marketing and company culture from working with them,” says Simpson.
The Mattress Firm HQ project in Houston was the last project Simpson completed prior to becoming president.
“It was such a rewarding experience because of the team I worked with at Mattress Firm and the team I worked with at tvsdesign that it made it especially hard to turn my focus away from running projects to running the firm. I have been fortunate to work with so many people that I admire.”