When talking
about Board leadership, we think of things like creating a 'vision' for the
community - which is easier said than done! Instead, the Board gets bogged down with daily
challenges: A common area sewer line
needs replacement; a homeowner is upset about an architectural decision; not
enough people can be found to fill spots on committees or even the Board
itself.
Daily
minutia eats up time that should be spent on long term planning and goals. Even
communities relying on professional management often find their Board members focused
on managing the manager. Such
'blue-collar' Boards take on a lot of the day-to-day to save a buck.
This
approach isn't sustainable. It ends in burn-out, neglected duties, or a
dictatorship. The first step out of this is deciding what you're trying to
accomplish, then looking to your governing documents and other resources to
help you do it. Too often Boards do the reverse, setting themselves up for failure.
Don't look
at your rules as a restriction on what you can do, but as tools to model
whatever you're trying to do. For example: If a homeowner is complaining about a
barking dog, but the documents clearly permit pets to be left in the backyard,
the Board should focus on the overall goal, not a rule that seems to close off
this issue. Perhaps their vision is that
no pet should be neglected or left unattended or potentially exposed to harm. Clearly communicate this thinking in the community
Rules & Regulations.
Even if dogs
are permitted to roam the yard, the Board makes clear that food bowls are not
to be left outside, to avoid attracting rodents and pests. A shelter from
weather is required. A reasonable limit on how long and when a dog may bark (before
animal control is contacted) is spelled out. Perhaps a periodic doggie play
date is set up in the local common area.
When
deciding to take on a community challenge, plan for what happens in the event
that the effort fails. Another example: In a condominium there is a rise in
complaints on second hand smoke. The Board puts forward an amendment to the
governing documents, banning smoking completely both inside and outside the
home. The Board needs to determine the outcome if the vote fails.
The worst
thing to do is declare that nothing happens. Such an outcome only discourages
the membership. Better to avoid holding the amendment vote than to fail to plan
for alternate outcomes.
When a Board
faces a failure, identify the circumstances that led to this. Don’t place blame on people. Framing the
blame on the circumstances permits you to suggest a new course of action and
create forward momentum - rather than inserting a wedge between people. A lot
of time is wasted when people get defensive. No one wants to be labeled a fool.
Some
failures are just perceived failures, not actual ones. For example, a homeowner
is upset about a neighbor’s new storage shed and demands quick action. Feeling
pressure, the Board cuts corners to force the removal, and in the process
creates trouble for the Association. Instead, the Board needs to manage
homeowner expectations on how quickly resolution will take, to avoid feeling a
false deadline.
Said another
way, you need to control pacing. Especially for a newly minted Board, it is
easy to come in with a list of twenty action items in the first month and
expect immediate resolution on all of them.
Realistically
three or five of these will be resolved over the next twelve months, because of
factors outside of the Board's control. Vendor response times, required
notification times, weather and unplanned absences are just some of the frustrations.
Remind yourself that the slowness of the process actually acts as a safeguard,
allowing the Board to be more deliberative and avoid costly mistakes. This is
one of the harder lessons to learn for new Board members. Don’t let an election "mandate"
translate to haste!
