I practice architecture in New York City—not the easiest thing to do or the easiest place to do it, but designing buildings is my passion.

One can lose sleep over so much. Will we have enough work to keep our staff together? Are we in sync with this client? What about the argument we had at the construction site? A prayer that I say often is "Lord, guide me in all that I think, all that I say and all that I do."

My faith gives me courage, enthusiasm and compassion to struggle through these challenges.

Our firm's culture is based on collaboration, listening and mentoring. My role as managing partner is to foster a collaborative environment by acting as a servant to others. Servant leadership helps me guide a firm of forty creative individuals, who each thrive on free-thinking. Valuing each staff member encourages them to discover their gifts, take flight and find roles that let them shine. I believe that leading from the front shuts down the power of the creative mind; leading from the back encourages each person to express their best ideas. Servant leadership lets me focus on the needs and desires of each client, allowing me to set aside the willfulness of my ego in deference to providing service of real value.

Goshow Architects is the product of a loving family, a church that gives us moral grounding and the presence of God in everything around us, whether we are aware of it or not. God is the vine and we are the branches. Without God we can do nothing.

Frustration and sometimes anger run high when facing difficult deadlines. I value reconciliation and forgiveness when tempers flare under the pressure of demands. I cannot stop the emotions that surface under these conditions, but I can create an atmosphere where apologies and peacemaking are the rule instead of the exception.

Because my faith is intrinsic to my work, I could never live as I do without God's presence in everything I do and everything around me.

—Nancy Aber Goshow