became more than a community of geography. We became a community of action, embracing every new adversity as a motivator to learn.
Association boards, like most other boards, are responsible for stakeholders. They are concerned with the collective interests of homeowners. When I became president of my homeowner association, I viewed the position as governing a small community. Much like the mayor of a city, governing an association involves addressing many challenges with the interests of all citizens. However, associations have a greater challenge of protecting property values and the expected lifestyle of all of the homeowners. This is not easy.
The association board is responsible for managing its association through good and challenging times. Much like the family of frogs in the arcade game that need to cross the busy highway to get home, managing the affairs of the association needs to be handled with the duty of care of all the owners and residents. Duty of ordinary care implies that the board acts in a reasonable fashion. This ordinary care responsibility implies that the officers of the board need to be familiar with the governing documents and the laws of the state. These documents define the scope of authority over association affairs. However, authority does not always affect community behavior. Occasionally there are challenges that demand negotiation. I mentioned earlier that I had to assume various leadership images. One of these images involved being a navigator. This role is similar to the director role in terms of outlining a policy that you think is necessary. However, the navigator takes time to identify the multiple interests of the owners. This style of association leader is great at crisis intervention based on alternative owner interests. They are good at using critical listening skills to persuade board members and negotiate perceptions to satisfy a majority of owners.
Sometimes problems are too complicated to handle with this navigator approach. In these difficult situations, the board needs to develop a clear scope of the problem. The scope is everything about the issue including the goals, constraints and limitations. It will form the foundation upon which your solutions to the challenge are based.
The association is acting as an interpreter unit in these situations. These types of board members provide the stakeholders with a sense of the situation through storytelling and metaphors. This board is aware of the multiple sense-making that happens in the community from different groups. Their focus is on sense-giving to these different groups. There might need to be conversations with outside groups like the mayor’s office, public works, police departments, fire departments, etc. Speak with as many groups as possible that share a stake in the solution. Seek common understandings of the problems if possible.
22 | COMMON INTEREST®
You should try to think about the factors of the challenge. Why is there a need in search of a solution? What is the underlying problem? You then need to gather all relevant data so that you have clear understanding of the state of affairs.
Resist limiting your information search. You might not know what information is key to a thorough analysis of alternative solutions. It is better to have it and not need it. You should use committees of owners to gather pertinent information about the issue if you have the time. Each of us has a distinct pattern of thinking. These multiple views will help the board frame the challenge. Using volunteer committee members from the community will also help them take ownership of the solution later. Lack of ownership discourages strong commitment to the problem-solving process. Constructing creative committee membership can go a long way towards developing alternative methods for solutions.
The association owner community should not be thought as complex masses of needs and problems. They should be viewed as a diverse web of gifts, skills, assets and capabilities. Innovative problem-solving solutions often emerge from the owners. Some associations also have learned the benefit of assigning one person in charge of seeing the problem through to solution. This person would be given a deadline to report back to the board. When this key person reports to the board, the board will then evaluate what resources are needed to implement the solution. The board will also review the governing documents to make sure the association is following current provisions of the declaration, local ordinances and laws.
The point that I am making in this article is that the goal of the association is to turn adversity into a productive experience. A properly developing board learns how to respond quickly and constructively to a crisis. This resilient board shifts productively from cause-oriented thinking to response-oriented thinking. When a crisis arrives, this board identifies the causes of the problems. However, they are also good at untangling their own beliefs and shifting to collaborating with the association to identify what features of the situation can be improved. This association learns which of its owners can be engaged to develop joint solutions to problems and to transform adverse situations into opportunities. The resulting empowered community feels a sense of attachment and pride. Its owners feel optimistic about the future. Like the dodging amphibian in the “Frogger” video game, the association has made it across a perilous road of challenges and emerged victorious on the other side!
• Summer 2021 • A Publication of CAI-Illinois Chapter
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