Successful architects need a combination of natural talent, practical skills, and certain personal qualities. Some of these abilities can be taught in good architecture schools, and some could be an innate part of your personality. If you aren’t blessed naturally with some of the qualities needed, it’s well worth working to develop them.

• Good Communication Skills
• Strong Drawing Skills
• Excellent Sense of Design
• Solid Technical Abilities
• Good Problem-Solving Skills
• Good Business Sense
• Ability to Collaborate
• Ability to Visualize a Concept
• Passion for the Work

The most common qualities that thriving architects share are:

• Strong Drawing/Sketching/Drafting Skills – This is an obvious requirement, as one of the main tasks architects perform is producing floor plans and specifications that clearly convey the project to the client and the contractors. Architects should be able to produce manually these documents on paper and also via software such as CAD (computer-aided design).
• Excellent Sense of Design – Good design includes not only the external aesthetics of a building, but also efficient traffic flow inside.
• Ability to Visualize a Project – Most people can visualize only what a structure will look like in its finished state after construction has begun. Good architects have a natural feel for space and dimensions and are able to see structures in their mind’s eye before the project has even started.
• Good Communication Skills – Proficient architects should have excellent verbal and written communication skills so they can successfully impart their visualizations to clients and contractors. Good communication also includes the capacity to be a good listener as well as speaker.
• Solid Technical Abilities – Architects need to be grounded in the basics of structural engineering, electrical wiring, heating and air conditioning, and all of the other technical components that go into a structure.
• Good Problem-Solving Skills – Architects are constantly confronting challenges that arise during the course of a project. They must know how to resolve successfully whatever comes their way.
• Ability to Collaborate – Architects do not work alone; they are continually interacting with clients, contractors, and other architects. They must know how to operate within a team.
• Good Business Sense – In order to produce realistic design solutions and keep themselves within their budgets, architects should be able to make astute monetary decisions and know what it takes to sustain a project financially.
• Passion for the Work – Because architects must handle so much responsibility, it is essential that they are sustained by a true passion for their work and are able to communicate that passion to their clients.