Efficiency is king in the architecture industry.

In fact, efficiency is so important to us that most firms are investing a minimum of tens of thousands of dollars each year on software, standard development, templates and more to maximize it. So many describe their efficiency efforts as a strategy to “reduce friction”.

But, are friction and inefficiency really the same thing? I’d argue they’re separate issues.

Efficiency is about doing more with less, but friction is about a feeling – the feeling of a degree of incompatibility.

To me, friction happens between people. Friction causes inefficiency.

Friction happens when the team halts because of a roadblock: a technical issue, or an unanswered question. It’s often not because the team didn’t have adequate tools in front of them; it’s that they didn’t have the skills or comfort to steer through rough waters.

We increase friction every time we put off an answer, leave a call or message unanswered, or overcomplicate the decision-making process. By itself, these seem like small choices, but their sum can seriously degrade trust between team members.

Worse, we think that other people don’t feel our team’s friction.

We assume that our choices to avoid or delay things aren’t noticed outside of the parties involved. In reality, it’s on clear display in the relationship others observe.

Teams should be building relationships, not friction, with each other through the course of a project. Our industry relies so heavily on our skills and desire to work together.

Why have so many of us lost this understanding? What drives us to avoid, delay, and complicate things?

You’d hear a lot of answers, but here’s a simple one: fear.

So many are afraid of the potential impact of saying, “No”. We fear looking like a contrarian or being described as difficult. Sometimes, we may even fear being asked, “Why?” These fears drive us to avoid answering tough questions, complicate things to share the responsibility of nay-sayer, or just ignore the question altogether and pray it ends up as someone else’s problem.

In reality, our teams aren’t counting your disagreements or awaiting a chance to cast you as a “difficult” collaborator. Instead, they’re thinking about progress.

While you focus on protecting yourself from feared “humiliation” or “exposure as a fraud”, your teammates are tapping their feet in impatience.

In reality, our teams are full of other people with the same desire to do things right that we have, and our standing in the way to satisfy our fear of being disliked is really hurting us.

So, look around and take stock of what’s really hindering or furthering your team’s efficiency; it probably starts with your team’s social dynamic itself.

Do your teammates seem comfortable disagreeing with each other? Do they seem comfortable posing questions for each other’s consideration? Do they speak much at all?

The way our teams communicate is the strongest indicator we have for team health; not hours worked, not PTO taken, not projects finished. The people on our teams with the strongest communication skills will be our best positioned.

So, should you stop investing in efficiency initiatives? Of course not.

Efficiency initiatives can lead to more consistent outcomes, faster project work, and uniformity in product, but it does not fix the “friction” you see within your teams. Only investment in your team members will do that.

Original Post Date: June 24th, 2026