Parallel board

I have been President of our communities board for 18 months. My experience comes from 30 years or top executive management and corporate boards. I have a member at large and VP who seem to have a hidden agenda to force my removal as well as disband the association.

I have tried everything in the books to try to work through this and make them find their way to be part of the team. However all attempts have failed and they know are starting to create descention within the community by craeting a movement for my removal. Due to the new AZ revised statutes this will require 25% of the community to petition my removal. Though I do not feel they will be successful it poses in the general memberships heads that we are a bunce of morons. This I feel is counter productive to building a strong community.

Though they are only two of six plus myself, I seem to find them having meeting every week within the community with certain homeowners as I suspect they are conducting their own meetings. Anytime the board communicates (brainstorms not vote or make final decisions) these two members never take part ro participate at any time. During open meetings they are disrespectful or rude...mostly directed at me. Lately since I have noted this activity, I have had a harrassment injunction filed against me (dismissed by the courts / found to be not true and without basis) and four formal complaints to the management company of which was never pursued by the homeowners (just mud slinging my name). On all occassions these two members have been at the very core of the incident.

I am a servant of the community like the other four. I am aware of my fiscal and fiduciary responsibility to our community. I have considered is it really worth it. A large percentage of the community has thanked my for all the work I have put into this and many ask me to never leave. Some just want me on the board forever. I just have to ask my self is it worth all the frustrations. Can anyone share their thoughts on how best to deal with this. I am really getting tired of fight an uphill battle. I also beleive the other four board members are frustrated as well.

Your title says "parallel board" - Unless they are conducting business on behalf of the HOA, this is not a "meeting", rather it's a gossip, social, or brainstorming group - nothing more. Why are you so threatened by these gatherings?

Keep your eye on the ball - the only "meeting" you need to be concerned about is the official meetings of the Board. Anything else is just community relations bantering back and forth.

My favorite saying is: You don't have to answer every barking dog. Ignore the mud-slinging and stand by your record of action on the Board.

Rick,

I have not seen your "style" or mode of operation when functioning as association president, so I don't think I can fairly pass judgement on the situation, or on you personally.

However, taking a cue from your own statement, "My experience comes from 30 years of top executive management and corporate boards", let me focus mainly on the reference to "top executive management."

There's a difference between being in a work environment and being on a board, especially one made up of volunteers. With 30 years of executive management, you may have become accustomed to a mode of operation that is inconsistent with being a member of a board that is supposed to operate according to democratic principles. I say this only because I have seen this happen before. You may be operating in a mode that, after 30 years, has become so natural to you, that you are not even aware of it.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Most likely, the homeowners elect the board members and the board members elect the president. This means the president works FOR the board and serves at the pleasure of the board. Not the other way around.

2. The president is not the president of the board. He or she is the president of the association. As a board member, the president is an equal and has one vote, the same as any other member.

3. The president is not "in charge". He or she presides at meetings.

4. The board is not the president's staff, as it might be in a work environment. I've seen presidents with a number of years in management conduct board meetings as if they were staff meetings. All board members are equal.

5. When the president signs a document, or a letter, the president is not approving the board's action. The president is AUTHENTICATING that the action represents that of the majority of the board.

I could go on with more, but you get the general idea. I am not saying that you are actually guilty of making these types of mistakes, but I have seen them made by others with a lot of years of managment experience. Sometimes it takes a little self retraining to learn to operate in a different mode.

In a work environment, the president's authority comes from above. In a democratic society, the "authority", or more correctly, the responsibility, comes from below. They call for two different tactics. So, if you are having some difficulty, it may be due to your "management style" or mode of operation.

This may be at the heart of the two board members that you are having difficulty with, or maybe they are just renegade members. All I can say is try to be more aware of what your mode of operation is. Based on your statement, you certainly have excellent credentials; that is why, I am sure, you were elected to the board and why you were elected as president.

I do wonder though, aren't the terms for your officers one year? (I think for many boards in HOAs, this is the case). If so, then to serve for 18 months means you were relected. That must imply something.

Good Luck.

Welcome Back Mr. Robert,

Your humerous wisdom has been missed. We all hope that Mrs Robert is doing better.
Good advice on the first post from you. Donna

Here's the thing, if these two members can launch and engage in a whisper campaign, where they can go behind the board's back and spread their own information, word of mouth, from one homeowner to another, then perhaps the rest of the board should examine the possibility of a similar campaign.

If the current board members, including yourself, do not have enough neighbors to whom you can simply walk up to and start a friendly conversation with, then perhaps you need to rethink your regime.

Is your board is so far removed from the neighbors that they can't do this?

I know that volunteers that serve on the board for most HOAs don't have a lot of "free time," however, it might be worth your while to simply pick a few streets and get out and knock on a few doors and do some informal, "Hey, how you doin'?" weekends.

You can counter the two board members' "undermining" with your OWN "undermining."

And I don't mean to say go trash these people. Not at all. Just go and get quality face-to-face time with the residents, that way, when the bad apples' whisper campaign gets going, you will have neighbors out there who can see you are 1) interested in the neighborhood, 2) not in a gilded or ivory tower somewhere issuing edicts, 3) friendly and approachable, and 4) real people with real concerns for the neighborhood, JUST like they are.

It might also help your attendance issues.

People don't mind blowing off people they don't "know." If they have a friendly and familiar "face" for the board, and they already have a connection, they might be more likely to drop on by for your get-togethers (i.e, meetings).

Just a suggestion.