by Jaime Sobrino, FAIA
Editor's note: Coming to AIA26? Join us on Friday for a deeper dive into these topics: Jeff Huber, FAIA is our Practice Management Luncheon speaker! Learn more >
Architectural leadership is often visible only through its outcomes—design awards, built work, and reputation. What remains unseen are the systems, decisions, and discipline that make consistent excellence possible. In a candid conversation with Jaime Sobrino, Jeffrey Huber, a recently named partner of Brooks Scarpa Huber (formerly Brooks + Scarpa) reflected on what firm leadership requires—and what architects often misunderstand about it.
Huber does not describe leadership as a single career choice. Instead, he sees it as a gradual shift in focus: moving from individual projects to shaping the conditions that allow design excellence to happen repeatedly. For him, leadership is not about producing design, but about designing systems—structures, teams, and processes that keep design quality move from episodic to consistent and sustained within the culture and practice.
From projects to practice
That shift brings a different level of responsibility. Once in firm leadership, the work moves upstream. Scope alignment, fee negotiation, contract structure, staffing, QA/QC, and risk management all happen largely before design begins. These decisions are often invisible to staff, yet they determine whether a project thrives or struggles long before the first drawing is issued.
One of Huber’s clearest observations is that many architects misunderstand how firms actually make money. Profitability is not a byproduct of good design—it is established through disciplined alignment of scope, fee, and risk before work starts, and protected through careful management throughout the project lifecycle. As he notes, a firm can lose more money during fee negotiation than it ever will during contract administration and project delivery.
This financial reality creates tension within studio culture. Huber is intentional about avoiding a spreadsheet-driven office, but he does not shy away from transparency. Financial awareness, he argues, starts with people. Brooks Scarpa Huber looks for individuals who combine talent with grit—team members who are not intimidated by responsibility and who naturally think about projects holistically. When financial understanding becomes cultural rather than administrative, it reinforces design excellence rather than diminishing it.
Looking back, Huber recalls learning difficult lessons the expensive way—particularly around time. Projects that are new or unfamiliar often carry underestimated risk, and assumptions about how long work will take are among the most common sources of lost profit. Time, he emphasizes, is the most misunderstood variable in architectural practice.
The cost of misalignment
One of the profession’s most persistent challenges is giving away value. Firms routinely leave money on the table by providing free design or absorbing additional services without compensation, often in an effort to be helpful or to secure the work. Without a clear understanding of scope and contract terms, even well-intentioned teams can unintentionally erode a project’s financial health. This begins even before a project is awarded. Huber notes, “We are often asked, or feel compelled, to give away our most valuable asset—design thinking. Yet other professions do not operate this way. Contractors, attorneys, and physicians do not provide their core expertise without compensation. As architects, we need to recalibrate how we define and position our value. That requires a clear and collective strategy—one that recognizes design as a professional service, not a speculative offering. Doing so not only improves profitability, it strengthens the standing of the profession. It is both a business imperative and, in many cases, an ethical—and even legal—responsibility.”
For emerging architects, Huber believes the transition toward leadership should begin early. Practice management thinking does not require a title—it starts with exposure. Transparency around how projects are structured, how fees are set, and how decisions are made builds leaders over time. Huber notes, “If you are trained as an architect, you should already be thinking like one. You are not simply producing drawings—you are contributing to decisions that shape projects, clients, and outcomes. In that sense, leadership is not a position you wait for. It is a mindset you begin developing from the start.”
Ultimately, what separates architects who advance from those who plateau is not design or business skill, but attitude. Leadership requires ownership, accountability, and comfort with uncertainty. As the profession evolves, Huber believes the most effective firm leaders will be those who can manage complexity—integrating financial literacy, technology, and adaptability—while maintaining clarity and discipline at the core of their practice.
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Jaime Sobrino, FAIA, is Vice President at LEO A DALY, leading operation across multi-market studios, aligning strategy, talent, and delivery to drive sustained growth and performance. His work sits at the intersection of design, business, and leadership- translating creative excellence into high-performing, profitable practice. Beyond practice, Jaime has served the profession through key roles with the AIA, including as Moderator of the Strategic Council. Currently, Jaime is the Advisory Board Chair of the AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community.
Jeffrey Huber, FAIA, ASLA, NCARB, LEED AP, WEDG, is a principal of Brooks Scarpa Huber and manages the firm’s South Florida studio. He also serves as Director of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Planning. In addition to practice, he is a Professor in the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University. A distinguished architect and landscape architect, Huber specializes in public realm projects that integrate environmental performance with design excellence. His work advances sustainability through initiatives in soft cities, agricultural urbanism, green school design, missing-middle housing, transit-oriented development, low-impact development/green infrastructure, and adaptation and transformation methodologies responding to emerging climate disruptions. Huber serves as Vice President of AIA Florida and previously served as an AIA National Strategic Councilor.
(Return to the cover of the June 2026 PM Digest)