Darris James

I SEE POTENTIAL For most of my life, I was an architectural designer. I was trained to critique. To study every line, material, and decision and find what was not working. I became very good at seeing flaws. That instinct followed me beyond design. I turned it on myself. I turned it on other people. I was always comparing what was in front of me with what I thought it should be. When I started teaching a design studio at the New York School of Interior Design, I brought that habit with me. During critiques, I focused on what was missing, what had not been resolved, and what the student had not yet figured out. I remember one critique during my second year. A student pinned up work that was clearly unfinished. The concept was thin. The drawings had been rushed. I began pointing out everything that wasn’t working. Then I saw their face. They weren’t defensive or angry. They were passively taking it in, as though my critique had confirmed something they already feared about themselves. I realized I hadn’t asked a basic question: “What are you trying to do?” Their answer was thoughtful and ambitious. It was far more interesting than the work on the wall. The problem was not that they lacked an idea. They just didn’t yet have the skill to make it visible. After that, I began every critique differently. Instead of starting with “What’s wrong with this?” I asked, “What’s trying to happen here?” That question changed the way I taught. Eventually, it changed my career. I left design for a role focused on helping people grow. I now work in Talent Development for a large architecture firm. I discovered that I cared less about what someone had already built and more about who they might become. I still catch myself seeing the flaw first. Perfection is a hard habit to break, and some days the old instinct wins. I keep a copy of my Dear World photo on my desk for exactly this reason. It reminds me to pause, to look past what's unfinished, and to see potential.