member easier. Working closely with your constituents and colleagues and knowing that you have a management team standing behind you to help serve simply sets the table for better results. The focus of every board member should include a knowledge of the following:
UNDERSTANDING EACH ONE’S PART IN THE PLAY:
If you think of managing an association like a play where actors, actresses, and supporting cast members fill a certain role with defined responsibilities, there are no disappointments or unrealistic expectations. Board members tend to understand their role, management understands their role, homeowners understand the dynamic of association living, and contractors fully understand the scope and specification of their job. Controversy can arise when there’s a disconnection between what board members expect versus what is reality. For example, property managers manage property and are not “project managers.” Property managers tend to organize, administrate, review, inspect, and advise during projects, but by no means are considered “certified experts” on a project. Often, certified experts such as engineers or architects are not used due to cost constraints, and the property manager is often asked to fill that role without having the knowledge or level of expertise to fill such a role. A project manager who is responsible for the lead on an entire project and has extensive first- hand knowledge, experience and expertise is on an entirely different level as that of a property manager. Not to take away that the property manager has some knowledge of a particular project based on their experience and frequency of involvement of a particular type of project through their career, but let’s face it folks, the nurse is not the doctor.
BE PREPARED:
Board members who carefully read through their management packets, read the proposals, research the information further, ask questions in advance, and come prepared to meetings to make business decisions generally forge the greatest results. Communities that are fortunate to have board members who come ready and able to have an opinion on the business at hand with clarity and focus, month after month, produce optimal results over time.
IN CLOSING: REMEMBER
The board & management are on the same team
There are so many other attributes of what constitutes a successful association but this article focuses on the board. Many people who live in communities, and even those who provide services to communities, think that the management company has the final say in what gets done around the property. Nothing could be further from the truth as the management company is no different from the landscaper in that they too are hired by the board of directors to perform a service. Management’s service is a direct by-product of board decisions and their job is to help facilitate the business of the association in a timely, accurate, and efficient manner, and to work hand-in-hand with the board of directors.
The board and management are on the same team, have the same goals, and want the very best for the association. The ultimate goal for both should be to build value, maintain property, maintain assets, build community spirit, navigate with utmost consistency, be prudent, be responsible, be respectful, and to build trust. Hopefully, as a result of the board and management’s combined efforts, the next time someone is looking to purchase, they see the fruit of everyone’s labor and find your association to be a “nice peach!”
DELEGATION AND INVOLVEMENT: Communities that have volunteers and committees that are allowed to work independently under structure add great value to the efficient administration of a community. For example, social committees, landscape committees, architecture committees, and the like who have some independence and are liaisons to the board foster greater consistency, greater communication, and better results long-term in the overall care provided to the property and to its residents. Committees and volunteers tend to roll up their sleeves and apply caring hands in helping a complex build that community spirit.
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