Designing a New Chapter: How 30 Years as an Architect Prepared Me to Pivot - Susan Clamage
After more than three decades in the design profession, I’ve made what some might call a career pivot — but to me, it’s more of an evolution.
Today, I’m part of JPMorgan Chase, where my role is not rooted in traditional architecture, yet the skills I’ve developed over a career of designing spaces and leading complex projects continue to shape every decision I make. I’m not drafting floor plans anymore — but I am still building. Just differently.
Seeing Systems, Shaping Outcomes
Architecture teaches you to think in systems. It’s never just about a building — it’s about how people move through it, how light flows in, how it feels to gather in a space. That holistic, human-centered thinking is exactly what I bring to my role now: considering how people engage with each other, with their work, and with the environment around them.
When I look at corporate strategy, stakeholder engagement, or team alignment, I draw from the same mental models I used when managing global accounts and designing multi-phase projects. It’s all about seeing the connections — between people, goals, operations — and creating clarity from complexity.
Transferable Skills: More Than a Buzzword
The idea of “transferable skills” is often treated as a fallback strategy for career changers. But in my experience, these skills are power tools. Design thinking, strategic planning, financial acumen, project management, client listening — these are not niche abilities. They’re foundational, and they apply across industries.
This is something we’re seeing more recognition of in workforce research. Gloat, for instance, recently emphasized the importance of defining internal job architectures and mapping out how skills — not just job titles — can drive workforce mobility and agility.* I see that in action every day, both in myself and the teams I lead.
The Culture Shift: Listening First
Joining a new company after many years in a different environment requires more than just adapting to new tools or workflows. It requires learning a new rhythm. Culture, like design, is invisible until you’ve lived in it.
What helped me acclimate was viewing this experience through the same lens I’d use on any new project: observe first, listen deeply, then design a way forward. I’ve found that active listening — truly hearing what a client or colleague needs — is one of the most valuable skills I’ve carried over from architecture. When you listen well, you can translate unspoken needs into actionable strategies.
No Map, Just Compass
I’m in perhaps the most creative part of my career. There’s freedom in not needing a fixed map. Instead, I rely on a compass: a commitment to people-centered problem solving, to purposeful collaboration, and to making environments — physical or organizational — better for the people in them.
This kind of pivot doesn’t mean abandoning your craft. It means recognizing that the essence of your skillset can be applied in new ways. Just as architects imagine spaces that don’t yet exist, career pivoters build futures that haven’t been defined yet.
From Blueprints to Business Strategy
I’m often the only one on my team doing what I’m doing. That can be daunting — but it’s also energizing. It allows me to act as a bridge: between creativity and operations, between vision and execution, between design and business.
That’s what I’ve always loved about architecture — and it’s what I love about this new chapter. It’s not about stepping away from who I’ve been, but stepping more fully into what I can offer. With clarity. With intention. With design at the core.
Read the original Gloat article here.
