Working for unethical boards

Does anyone have any experiences in dealing with an unethical board as it relates to how their actions kill staff morale?

I think that would be helpful, however, it requires a board to be focused on a common goal of supporting the community at large. What about the board members that focus on personal agendas rather than what's best for the whole? Anyone had this type of experience?

No one works for their board. The board is to work for them. Board members are also volunteers and homeowners just like the rest of the membership. they were just elected to represent the homeowners on daily business of operations. Do not like them? Follow the rules to get them out and put the people you want in. (If they will run).

It actually IS that simple.

HARD, but simple

Barbara seems to be able to relate to the question best. It's even more challenging when the board is still run by the developer and the developer is handing out other management contracts to the management company. Seems to be a no win situation if the board lacks integrity and the management company values their contacts over their own people, correct?

What positions do these staffers hold, Doug?

I have seen boards and/or certain directors place so many demands on our onsite property manager and manager asst., that they cannot get the work done that's in their contract with our HOA. Some directors here, for example, have demanded a great deal of research by the PM much of which the directors could do themselves.

In my experience I have seen the developer board head dictate vendors and use the leverage of multiple management contracts with particular management company to remove senior managers so they can continue to get their way. The ones that suffer are the senior managers just trying to do the right thing in the jobs, yet they are moved on for it. One bad apple spoils the bunch.....

Doug, so is it vendors who suffer the morale problems? I'm trying to understand what kind of "staff" you'r referring to.

What size/kind of development is your HOA, Doug?
Are you an owner?

like pulling teeth.

This is one of the reasons I prefer working for a smaller, privately owned management company - they are more likely to be willing to drop a client. There have been many times I've wrestled with my conscience about a board decision that I knew to be wrong. But you know - and I fully acknowledge that this may be just rationalizing on my part - every questionable act I witnessed a board doing would have been readily discoverable by a homeowner who just showed up at a meeting, reviewed the financials, or read their documents. Something I have to continually remind myself is that I cannot care more about the association than its members.

Aw, c'mon, Doug. You're being way too vague about everything. What's an example at your HOA of a director working towards his personal agenda v. what's best for the community? And if it's just separate individual directors each working on their own personal agendas, how do they get the votes they need from the rest of the Board? Or do they trade off favors for each other?

Sometimes what's in a director's personal interest also benefits the community or a large chunk of it.

What does your HOA need tfor the Owners to take over from the developer?

John what community do you live or work in? How about you Kerry?

John that answer seems vague. I'm not debating whether the actions were unethical or not, I know they were. The original question was does anyone have any experiences with dealing with unethical boards and it grew from there. Thanks for your participation.

With all due respect, you’re still too vague for me to give you a thoughtful answer – one person’s “unethical behavior” may be another person doing something correct and proper, but person #1 disagrees with it for whatever reason. You may be right that the behavior is unethical - and if it is, I fail to see why you don't come out and say what this board is doing (or not).

I assume you’re a homeowner, but you haven’t said if you’re on the board, and that could make a difference in what the suggestion might be. Not to mention the developer is still running things – usually the developer has the first and last say over what happens in the community until it’s turned over to the homeowners. If that hasn’t happened yet, your board may be able to do little more than rubber-stamp whatever the developer is doing – or they’ll be overruled anyway.

You either want useful information or not – I, for one, don’t believe in being an automatic amen corner, especially when people ask questions that don’t provide any insight as to what’s happened, or what’s been done or attempted to resolve the problem – and why said behavior is questionable. Some of the folks here have already said what you may need to do – rally together your neighbors and vote out this board and put in people who will do what you want. Ultimately, that’s how change happens and it’s not easy, nor is a change made overnight. Sometimes it’s a matter of how far you want to push and what you’re willing to do.

And if we just answered "Yes" and left it at that, would you have been satisfied?

Do you want to commiserate or do you want advice on improving your situation? Because if it's the former, then I think we've done that and the thread has run its course. If it's the latter, more detail is needed.