Posted:
I've been thinking about this post for a while now, looking back over the associations I've worked with for the past 30+ years, as to what made a "good" association vs. a "bad" associaton. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it usually revolved around one person, the Board President. I've seen good President's turn around associations with huge problems, and I've seen bad President's turn a good association into Iraq.
Although a board of directors consists of more than just the President, the deference that people in our society generally grant to that position, gives it more weight than just one vote. The President is the most public face within and association and sets the toneof how the association will operate. That person's leadership skills will do more to make or break an association than any other combination of forces or events.
As an example, in the last couple of years, I've worked with two large condominium associations in my area. The first was having major internal problems, with a disjointed board and management issues. One board member, who was frustrated with the lack of (you name it: leadership, communication, accountability, etc.) decided he'd had enough and ran for the Presidency. In his first term, everything changed for the better. Same board, different President.
At the other association, it had been extremely well-run for 30 years, but was showing signs of age and indifference. A dissident group was established that began challenging all of the board's actions. The President, a very nice individual, was very shy and avoided any thing that even remotely resembled confrontation. Without the leadership the board struggled to respond to the issues and the association began to unravel. They have a new President now who's actively working to improve the situation, so there's hope.
For those of you who have dealt with many associations, think back to those that operated quietly and smoothly, and those who kept hitting speed bumps. Especially think of those that went from one extreme to the other. I would be willing to bet that you will be able to point to the greatest difference between them was the leadership skills of the President.
I know there are always exceptions, but I think the generalization will hold true in most instances. I wrote the following blog a couple of years ago, and I think it may say it better:
April 08, 2005
The Perfect Board President
As baseball season gets under way it reminds me that there should be a Hall of Fame for board members of community associations. Hundreds of thousands of selfless volunteers give of their time and abilities and receive very little in the way of recognition, even from their own association. It would be nice to acknowledge those special board members who not only volunteered but made a major, positive impact on their association.
When I was a brand new manager (way back in the prehistoric days of condos), I was assigned to manage a very nice site and given the warning that they had a very "active" board. I took this to mean they were going to dump a ton of work on me and then micro-manage my efforts to complete it. So it was with no little trepidation that I visited the site for my first on-site inspection with the President. I met him at his unit where he offered me a cup of coffee and a seat to chat. He was 5'4", 120 pounds, 70 years old, a widower and spoke very quietly, so that I had to pay close attention when he was talking. My mind was saying "Napoleonic complex with too much time on his hands", but I couldn't have been more wrong. In what would become a weekly habit, we started out on a walk around the complex. Each of us would take turns pointing out things that needed to be checked out or fixed. I wrote them down, he never did, but remembered every item. We would meet 10-15 people on our walk, and all would come over to say hi. He would introduce me and then chat for a short while, but never standing still for more than a minute. Some just wanted to talk, some had questions and others problems. Each would be treated with a friendly and polite response. If a promise was made to follow-up, I learned that it was always kept.
Now and then we'd meet an owner looking for an argument. As the person approached, the President would say quietly to me, "This person has a problem, let me handle it". He would welcome the person, shake their hand and then invite them to discuss the problem while continuing our walk, explaining that I had to finish my work. It was here that I learned that you really can't have a confrontational argument while "strolling". Its when you're face-to-face that things can get heated, when no one wants to back down. Walking side-by-side it quickly becomes a conversation rather than an a fight. I never saw anybody go home mad.
The first board meeting I attended looked like it was going to be a long one. The President was the only retiree on the board and the rest straggled in looking harried and tired. I looked forward to a long night of reviewing things that I had already written in my management report to bring everyone up to speed. But it didn't happen. He knew that they didn't have much time so he had taken his time to contact them and bring them up to speed before the meeting. Our board meetings were quick and effective.
He had a great ability to convince people to help out. He knew they were busy so he didn't ask them to serve on a committee. He simply asked them to help out with a single task and they almost always said yes. He knew what was important and what wasn't. When the wood siding began to pull away from the buildings he knew it was going to eventually happen to all of them, so while I was gathering bids from contractors, he went out and found a retired master carpenter and asked the board to let him work on one building as a trial. The man did spectacular work and was hired to do all of the buildings. When I moved away five years later, not one nail had popped.
There were many other things that I learned from this man that served me well with other associations and in my life. Too many to list here. Let me just end this by saying that if there ever is a Hall of Fame for board members, I would like to nominate Russ Caplin of Greenbrooke Parkhomes, in Southfield, Michigan for immediate consideration, unfortunately posthumously.
Joe