Setting Egos Aside

‘One of the themes I’ve covered repeatedly through the years,’ wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column in September 2009, ‘has had to do with the need for all of us to become effective team players.

‘True, there have been times when egos have gotten in the way and I’ve found myself in fairly dysfunctional groups, but for all that, I have to say that collaboration very often yields great results.’ He continued:

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‘Recently, for example, we designed a set of watershapes for . . . a resort in the Bahamas. . . . Everyone was involved, everything was positive and ideas aimed at making the project better flowed constantly. At no point during our initial meeting or during the ensuing process . . . was there ever a hint of ego.’

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‘I came away from that experience thinking that I would more than welcome the opportunity to work with any of these professionals again in the future, and I’m reasonably confident that it will happen at some point, basically because we developed the sort of practical, professional camaraderie you don’t soon forget.’

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‘When any watershaper has the chance to team up with designers of . . . high caliber, we should always view these situations as golden opportunities to develop our own design skills. . . . As I see it, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging that other people bring different skills and experience to the process.’

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‘To show how well this can work, I’m currently working on a project that will be built on a small semi-private island in the Bahamas. In this case, the initial discussions on collaboration have been seamless and are a perfect example of how various areas of expertise can mesh.’

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‘In this case, before I was brought in the architect had designed a beautiful vanishing-edge pool with radii on each end where he located shallow lounging areas. In my discussions with the client, I suggested that the vanishing edge should extend all the way around the two ends and that the depth of the lounging areas should be set at six inches instead of a foot.’

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‘By then I was on a roll and also expressed the thought that a planter would be a nice transitional feature outside the catch basin. . . . Then I suggested that the other edges should become a deck-level perimeter overflow feature, topping it all off with the thought that, given the fact that water is an extremely precious commodity for the island’s residents, it would be a good idea to establish the entire deck as water-harvesting area.’

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‘Those were some fairly significant changes, and I asked the homeowner if the architect might be bruised by such a pile of ideas. He assured me that, although the gentleman had an ego, he’d also known him to be highly susceptible to the charms of ideas that would make the project better.’

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‘Although we’re still in the midst of developing and refining the design, I’m confident that many of the features I’ve suggested will be included – and that, when it’s completed, this will almost certainly be a project I’ll proudly add to my portfolio. . . . And when the time comes, you may rest assured I will be certain to credit the architect for his contributions.’

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‘The upshot is that everyone involved in projects such as these (and especially the homeowners) will benefit from thinking that’s open-minded and unaffected by ego,’ Brian concluded. ‘I’m not saying ego is a bad thing, [but] when people who respect each other come together and get to work, then we all have the opportunity to create projects that are as good as they possibly can be.’

Have you found that sacrificing ego to the good of a project has been as rewarding to you as it has been to Brian? Or do you find that it pulls you into compromises and concessions that make a project less satisfying? Please share your thoughts on this important issue by commenting below!

Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants, a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group; dedicated to top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design and construction, this organization conducts schools for like-minded pool designers and builders. He can be reached at [email protected].