FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

JOIN THE WAIT LIST FOR MY REVAMPED COURSE INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW WE MANAGE OUR DECORATING PROJECTS CAN TRANSFER OVER TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS

WHY CONFIDENCE ISN’T A PERSONALITY TRAIT

WHY YOU CAN’T SHORTCUT YOUR WAY INTO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

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Today we’re talking about something that is truly foundational and lives at the core of every successful designer’s business, whether you are selecting pillows or managing a full construction project – and that’s leadership.

Leadership is not just about authority or about job titles or years in the business. It’s about stepping up, taking ownership of the vision, process, and experience for everyone, including your teammates on the project, your contractors and trades, as well as your clients.

While many of you do this already in your decorating work, it is completely normal to feel unsure when shifting into construction management. But hell, give yourself some credit that you know how to lead in your decorating projects. 

So let’s start there – let’s look at the places you’re already leading.

Even if you don’t label it that way, and I think that’s a bigger problem, that most of us just don’t acknowledge those moments in our business. But the reality is, once we shine a light on that, you will see how it’s possible to grow into leadership in more complex spaces – and yes, construction management is more complex, but it’s not insurmountable.

How we manage our decorating projects

Yes, I still decorate and I thoroughly enjoy decorating. I think we need to remind ourselves where we are leading, where we are being successful.

I always think wallpaper is a great example. It seems easy, right? You buy paper, you hang paper. Pretty simple stuff. However, let’s take a step back and actually walk through the process that I know you’re doing but we just don’t always think about the steps we’re taking. It becomes muscle memory after doing it time and time again successfully.

So, first, you are going to specify the right wallpaper for the space, by asking questions, such as, does it need to be wipeable? Is it in a high-traffic area? Is grass cloth a terrible idea if your client has cats with claws? 

So you found the right wallpaper, you are going to then price the right wallpaper. You’re going to present a few well-edited options for your client, you’re going to locate and vet a local wallpaper hanger if you don’t already have one, you’re going to communicate with that hanger how you’d like it laid out and you might do a site visit and discuss possible issues along the way. You’re going to schedule the work after it’s all been approved. You’re going to order the paper, receive it, inspect it, and get it delivered, somehow, to the client’s home. You’re going to estimate how long it will take, you’re going to walk through the job, maybe once, maybe twice. You’re going to check in on the progress during the installation, you’re going to trouble shoot anything that goes wrong. You’re also going to conduct a final walkthrough, create that punch list if needed, and then invoice properly for the paper, the installation, your time, all of that. 

You’re going to do that entire process probably without thinking much about the actual steps you took. 

Throughout that whole process, you’re leading. You’re guiding your client, you’re directing the trades, you’re communicating with vendors, you’re solving problems – that’s leadership. 

Let me take you back for a second… think about the first time you decorated a room with wallpaper. Did you know how to do that right away?

Did you maybe skip a few steps, stumble through?

Or did you feel completely confident from day one? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say probably not. You probably figured it out along the way.

You learned. You made mistakes. 

So let me ask you this, why do you think construction should be any different?

Or why do you believe you should somehow just ‘know’ how to manage construction projects when it is far more complex than decorating.

Or do you catch yourself winging it, hoping that your instincts will carry you through, but secretly worrying that you’re one misstep away from a very expensive mistake?

We don’t talk about construction enough. And we definitely don’t talk about leadership enough.  

When humans feel insecure about their abilities, most of us don’t admit it – why would we? The reality is most of us just overcompensate. 

The good news is that we excel where we’ve had practice, where we’ve gotten positive reinforcement, and where we feel in control. And confidence builds through repetition and clarity. 

But the minute we step into new territory, let’s say construction, for example, your brain goes, ‘uh…..am I allowed to be here? Can I lead in this space?’ And that doubt can come from all sorts of places. Right? You don’t know the rules of the game yet, or you’re afraid to say the wrong thing in front of the contractor, or you’ve always been the expert with your client and now you’re feeling like a beginner again. And what I see a lot of times, is you’re just not sure what role you’re supposed to play, so you play it safe. 

But confidence is not a personality trait. It is the byproduct of clarity, preparation, and experience. And that’s why construction can feel so hard at first. It’s not because you can’t do it. You absolutely can manage construction projects. It’s because you haven’t built that repetition yet of the skills you need to lead. 

You already know how to do so much of this. 

You have built many of the skills already in your decorating projects. And, yeah, you’ve probably made a few mistakes along the way. I know I sure did. 

In construction, it’s knowing how to plan for things going sideways, and they absolutely will on every single project to some degree. The key is to understand how to get things back on track without losing the trust of your client or the respect of your team. 

It’s juggling timing, sequencing, product lead times, and keeping your eye on what’s happening behind the walls, not just in front of them. 

And so just like decorating, that confidence, it comes over time. You didn’t get where you are in your decorating projects overnight, and the same goes for construction. 

And if you get one thing from this episode, it’s that you can’t shortcut your way there. 

But you can fast-track it with the right support. And most importantly, if you don’t start, if you avoid that learning curve, or fight against it, or keep telling yourself you’re going to figure it out someday, you rob yourself of the chance to ever feel confident in that space. 

You can’t grow into a skill that you’re not practicing. This is true of everything we do.