A few months ago, my former co-worker Jessi Bartek, NCIDQ, RID – NE & TX, WELL AP, reached out and asked if I would answer a few questions for a Career Leadership Program she was participating in at HDR. I was honored that she thought of me as one of the leaders whose perspective she wanted to include.
But what I didn’t expect was how much joy I would find in answering the questions.
They gave me an opportunity to reflect on my career, the people who have shaped it, the kind of leader I’ve become, and what I believe our profession needs moving forward. As I started writing, I realized there were themes woven throughout my answers that I hadn’t necessarily recognized before.
One of the gifts officeinsight has given me is a platform to share not only what I’m seeing in our design community, but also what I’m learning along the way. So, I thought…why keep these reflections to myself?
Maybe something in my journey will resonate with yours.
- Tell me about your career journey. What steps did you take to get to where you are today?
Looking back on my career, I can honestly say that the biggest factor in my growth has been building genuine relationships with people, both inside and outside of the design industry.
That really started in college. I served as Student Government Vice President at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA), and one of the opportunities that came from that role was serving on the architecture selection committee for the new Student Recreation Center. Through that experience, I connected with design professionals who later offered me my first internship in Dallas.
One of my favorite parts of that story is that I was able to help select one of the finishes for the project…the carpet. Even more meaningful is that I’m still connected with several of the designers I worked with during that internship.
Those early connections continued throughout my career. SFA alumni helped open doors at the firms where I started my career and later introduced me to the Austin design community. Having Dr. Pattillo, former SFA President and a dear mentor, as a reference on my resume didn’t hurt either.
Another defining relationship has been with my current boss, Harmony Edwards. Shortly after moving to Austin, one of my husband’s former students connected me with her father, who is an architect. He told me, “You need to meet Harmony.” He was absolutely right! Harmony became a mentor to me for more than six years before I eventually joined Edwards + Mulhausen, where I’ve now been for almost 13 years.
Professional organizations have also played a major role in my journey. Being involved with IIDA and other industry organizations has given me opportunities to serve on panels, participate in roundtable discussions and podcasts, and connect with incredible leaders across our profession. Those experiences have most recently led me to serve as Chair of the IIDA Foundation Board of Trustees and become a columnist for officeinsight.
When I think about the steps that got me here, they all come back to one thing: investing in authentic relationships. Every meaningful opportunity in my career can be traced back to someone who believed in me, mentored me, challenged me, or opened a door. That’s why I will always invest in people and genuine relationships.
- What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received from a leader?
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was that clients choose people just as much as they choose design.
A leader once told me that if two designers present equally strong solutions, the client will often choose the person they trust and genuinely want to work with. That advice completely changed how I viewed my role as a designer.
I realized that we’re all in sales…not in the traditional sense, but in how we communicate ideas, build relationships, and earn trust. Before a project is ever built, we’re first selling our vision and helping clients feel confident that we’re the right partner to bring it to life.
Great design matters, but so do authenticity, communication, and the relationships you build along the way.
- What pitfalls do you see to becoming an effective leader?
One of the biggest pitfalls I see is believing that leadership begins with a title.
Titles are important, and they often reflect someone’s responsibilities, but they shouldn’t define whether someone sees themselves as a leader. A title can change over time, but your ability to influence others, build trust, and make a positive impact cannot be taken away.
I’ve always believed there are countless ways to lead. Sometimes leadership means stepping up and making a difficult decision. Other times, it means stepping back and creating space for someone else to shine. Some of the best leaders I’ve worked with weren’t the loudest voice in the room…they were the ones who empowered others to succeed.
No matter where you are in your career, you can lead through your actions, your attitude, and the way you invest in the people around you. That’s the kind of leader I strive to be!
- How did mentorship play a role in your leadership journey?
Mentorship has played a tremendous role in my leadership journey, and you can probably see that from my previous answers. I’ve been fortunate to have mentors who invested in me, challenged me, and encouraged me to pursue opportunities I may not have considered on my own.
But I’d also expand the conversation beyond mentorship to include sponsorship and reverse mentoring.
Some of the biggest opportunities in my career came because someone mentioned my name in a room I wasn’t in. That’s sponsorship in action. Someone saw potential in me, advocated for me, and trusted me with opportunities before I even knew they existed.
Now, after more than 20 years in the profession, I’ve also come to appreciate the value of reverse mentoring. Some of the best insights come from those who are earlier in their careers. They challenge assumptions, ask different questions, and encourage me to think beyond “the way we’ve always done it.”
To me, leadership is a continuous cycle. We all need mentors who guide us, sponsors who advocate for us, and reverse mentors who help us keep learning and growing. I try to be all three for others whenever I can.
- What does elevating design culture mean to you?
To me, elevating design culture starts with advocating for our profession. It means helping everyday people understand the value that interior designers bring to the built environment and the impact our work has on health, safety, and well-being.
But it also means taking care of the people who make great design possible.
As an industry, we must continue finding ways to attract, develop, and retain talented designers. That includes creating workplaces where people feel supported throughout every stage of their careers. I’m especially passionate about practitioner well-being because I’ve seen how burnout and a lack of flexibility can cause talented designers to leave the profession altogether.
A strong design culture isn’t built solely through award-winning projects; it’s built by investing in people. When designers feel valued, supported, and empowered to grow, they’re able to create their best work, mentor the next generation, and strengthen our profession for years to come.
- What do you think is the next step for the biggest impact, with the least effort, for sustainable design?
I’m going to answer this a little differently.
When I think about sustainability, I don’t just think about buildings, I think about people.
I believe one of the greatest opportunities for our profession is investing in career sustainability. We spend a lot of time talking about creating sustainable spaces, but not enough time talking about creating sustainable careers.
I’m hearing more designers say that commercial interior design doesn’t feel like a sustainable profession for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Burnout is real, and we’re losing talented people because of it.
If we want to make the biggest long-term impact on our industry, we must create environments where designers can thrive throughout their entire careers, not just survive the first few years.
I don’t have all the answers yet. It’s something I’m actively thinking about, researching, and advocating for because I believe it’s one of the most important conversations our profession needs to have. When I figure out the “specifications” for career sustainability, I’ll be sure to share them.
The last 20+ years of my career have authentically come together without a strategic plan for where I wanted to end up or even an intention of being considered a leader in the design community.
I’ve followed opportunities. I’ve invested in relationships. I’ve said yes when people saw something in me that maybe I didn’t see in myself yet. Somehow, all of those experiences have built upon one another to create the career and leadership journey I have today.
Answering these questions got me thinking: What if I leaned more intentionally into what has naturally been happening all along?
What if I actually took the time to design what I’d like the next 20 years of my career to look like?
And then, as the universe tends to do, an opportunity appeared.
This September, I’ll be participating in the IIDA Design Leadership Lab here in Austin. The timing feels pretty perfect. I’m looking forward to gaining new tools, challenging myself, and becoming more intentional about what this next adventure in my journey might look like.
For the first 20 years, I didn’t have much of a strategic plan.
Maybe the next 20 are worth designing.
Editor’s Note: Krystal R. Lucero, RID, NCIDQ, IIDA, is senior interior designer at Edwards + Mulhausen Interior Design. She is a design advocate, connector, storyteller, believer that representation matters and that meaningful change starts with conversation. Connect with Krystal on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/krystallucero.