Tom D - your band analogy reminded me of something that might resonate with you. Duke Ellington once said that no one is his band "played 100% of his instrument", i.e. none of his musicians got the absolute most out of his given instrument's potential. Some, he said, might play 90% of their instruments, but others were at 50% and even 20%. But Duke didn't mean that as a criticism; instead, he put the onus of himself as bandleader and composer to recognize the strengths and limitations of each of his band members and to create music around that. For example, maybe the guy who only played 20% of his instrument produced absolutely fantastic sounds within that narrow bandwith - well then, Duke's job was to make sure a song or an arrangement maximized that 20% and didn't call for any more, and to use it as one colour in a broad palette; but at the same time making sure to leave room for the guy who played 90% of his instrument (someone like Johnny Hodges) to shine and sometimes even to steal the show.
All of which is to say, I'd imagine one of the talents an architect in your position has to have is the ability to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your team members, and to bolster the confidence of those who, while they might only play 20% of their insruments, can still make a great contribution to the whole. I'm almost certain that no improviser can really play well if he's lacking in self-confidence.
Peter
PS - Interestingly, this came from one of the very few bandleaders in jazz --in fact, probably the only one -- who kept his band in tact and paid his musicians 365 days of the year, whether or not they were touring or recording. It cost him a lot financially to keep his team together like that, but Duke said that since his main interest was composing great music, he wanted to be sure that when he heard their sounds in his head -- individually and collectively -- he could get that exact team together at a moment's notice to create the music he was hearing.