Board Members Involvement

I am president of our HOA. All members of the board are volunteers. I am frustrated with the board members because most of them don't want to or find it necessary to be more involved with community affairs. They feel that showing up once a month is enough.

Any suggestions on how to increase the board's want and need to be involved in their own community?

Hi Diane:

Welcome to HOAtalk.

I agree strongly with Tim in that you should not do everything yourself. Doing so only tends to create more apathy because someone else is always willing to do all the work. Also, it tends to sometimes make others feel like one individual is trying to run the show even though they usually are not (only doing so because no one else pitches in to help).

Since it is now summer and nice weather you might see about having bi-weekly gatherings for the association members. Maybe every other Friday everyone can meet at the common area if they choose to attend, bring a finger food dish, BOYB, and get to really know each other. By doing this the board can maybe have other homeowners willing to form some committees to take some of the everyday burden off of the board members and encourage more participation. It is not just the board you want to have involved, but everyone else coming together as a team for the future of all homeowners in the association. At some point in time you will want others to step up to the plate and be board members so the current board can take a break. How best for them to be potential board members than to help out with committees.

Diane:

Sad to say you have found yourself in the real world of today. The board members I refer to as "once a month" members who do little more than occupy a seat.

I have found in actually serving on a board for 24 years, most times the people that would be good to have don't wish to join and the people dying to join you really don't want to have.

The truth some people do and others are willing to sit by and watch. And on rare occasions they might suggest what should be done and then stare at the floor when asked who will take this on. And if and when they take things on be prepared for a wait.

This is more than likely the largest most valuable asset you own. Does that encourage people to wish to get involved? NO This is in most cases your home, the community in which your family lives is this a reason to take part? NO

Apathy exists today at every level. Work, local government, state government, and the federal level. That's one of the reasons we find ourselves where we do today. Same rules apply those holding the job can't on their best day do the job but those with the ability won't get involved.

We have a couple of hundred being paid in Washington.

Tim was right. Don't do it all yourself. Just creates the need for less effort on the part of others. What Tim didn't mention was when you don't do the job be prepared to sit there and wait till the cows come home for things to get done.
You can either learn to live with that or drive yourself nuts. Who will provide the motivation to motivate people that can't motivate themselves? That's simply not possible.

And to the suggestion YOU (no on else will have the time) now arrange for bi-weekly get-togethers sort of acting as a community cheerleader well lets hope you have lots of free time to waste attempting to get people to do what they will never do. Same folks that think open meetings, transparency, giving each owner a say in every decision and providing more information to the owners that simply don't care will change everything into La La land. That's a fairy tale.
Pushed in many cases by people who never actually held a position on a board.
Not knowing what a board actually does gives them the uninformed ability to suggest YOU give more of YOUR time while others do nothing. IN most cases when you have open meetings and all the owners who wish to take part show up how many come?

Diane, don't know how long you have served on your board, or how long ago they dumped the President's job in your lap. Many times they praise you, sing your name that YOU and YOU alone can handle the job not because they truly beleive that but rather because they would rather not. Be careful when other push you to the front of the line. Be careful when others suggest you take the point.

Some people who have posted here in the past have been led down that garden path.
Never served a day on the board but they are PERFECT to be President. Because some one else wishes to bail out. In the real world that doesn't work very well most times.

Diane, I wish you luck. Serving can be a thankless job with little in the way of rewards other than knowing you did something to improve the property which you own. After a while that will no longer be enough.

There is no magic pill or lotion to make people take part. There is no simple answer the reality is some people do most if not all of the work. Some people do nothing. And some people sit back and talk about things they themselves have never done.