As Community Association Managers, we facilitate the administrative needs of the Board of Directors who employ us. We provide insight, experience and competency to Boards who need assistance running their corporations. We are a point of contact for homeowners, vendors and the real estate community. Often, association managers are labeled as the ones who wear the black hat. The enforcers. Even, the enemy.
Often times, this administrative shield between the Board and the membership can be a very effective communication tool for the association. However, if not handled with a sense of mutual respect, the relationship between the membership and the manager may create animosity and angst in an otherwise healthy community.
It is important for managers to remain neutral and nice, never negative. There are many times when we are given the task of communicating difficult and even unwanted news to a resident. Empathy and respect are important traits that must be utilized in these delicate situations. Although there are many black and white areas of legal responsibility in association management, there are even more gray areas that require the manager to defer to the Board, or even to suggest the solicitation of legal advice from qualified counsel, and in doing so, must remain open to each Board's unique deliberative process.
It is important for managers to remember that open and transparent deliberation of the Board must be nurtured and encouraged at all times. This is not our home, it is yours. You employ us, not to manage the Board per say, but to manage the corporation, under the Board's direction. We facilitate your decisions. Every Board achieves a specific outcome in a different manner. The process that the Board chooses to follow, may not be the way the manager would have done it, but this is not what is important. If the actions are not illegal, unjust or harmful to the community as a whole, we as managers, must respect the fact that this is the path our clients wish to follow, and part of our job is to make them feel comfortable and supported in their decisions. An effective Board feels ownership of their positions and shares pride in the decisions they make, strengthening the community as a whole and encouraging trust.
When it comes to the enforcement of governing documents within an association, managers must remember to be tactful and to communicate to the membership with respect. Enforcement processes rarely succeed when addressed aggressively right out of the gate. Most violations are simple oversights by owners, or even misunderstandings of the requirements of the association. We find that many owners simply lack education because no one had taken the time to explain the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the association in which they live. When managers succeed in explaining the impact of the infraction or even communicate the Board's intention of preserving property values and protecting the common area, many owners seem more willing to comply.
We have learned all of this through the experience of assisting Boards of Directors in our local communities for over twenty years. In staff meetings, we often brainstorm on practices that are working and not working for our communities. We attempt to adapt to our ever evolving membership and legislature, revise our communication practices and tactics, and nurture a sense of community within the associations we manage. No one is perfect and sometimes, no amount of tact can resolve a highly emotional homeowner. What we must remember is to take a step back and think about how it would feel to be on the receiving end. If we can better empathize with our clients, we can be more effective at the true goal of association management; to nurture a sense of community and to support the Board in making positive decisions that will protect and enhance the common area.
