By Julie Adamen

I went through the articles we published in 2005, looking for the best of the best in terms of information managers and executive usually won’t see anywhere but NewsLine. The (abridged) articles I selected for your (re-) review had to do with the people issues faced every day bys managers: Understanding our Boards, how and why they became to be Board members, and how we can better deal with their diversity. Next, I discussed one of our most problematic issues: The loss of trust and respect between Board members and their Service Providers (including management), and how we can recognize the origins of that lack of trust – and mitigate the damage as best we can.  Then we move on to information that managers and executives can use when it comes to interviewing – be they the interviewer, or the interviewee. I close with portions of my favorite article this year: Why this really IS a great business. Although there was a lot of good information in between these specific articles, I thought this was some of the best, most useful information published this year.

Understanding Board Development: Diversity in Action

January and February 2005

As managers we all know what the Board is supposed to do, but we seldom take the time (or, are able to take the time) to understand how Boards develop their process of function or dysfunction. When I was a manager – back in the day - I could tell you all about what the Board was supposed to do, what they did do, and what was right and what was wrong and what my frustration level was for the day.  However, I seldom thought about, or even wanted to think about, why the Board did what they did and how it affected their development as an entity and the development of the community.  Had I had this knowledge of Board dynamics, it would have affected how I assisted them and managed their communities. Looking back, this knowledge would have made my job and my life a lot easier.  

Why people become Board members.  I find that most board members have some combination of (Personal) Agenda, Ego, Available Time, certain Personality traits and a Sense of Duty, that have driven them to their volunteer posts.

The Personal/Professional Profile is Diversity. The one thing Board members have in common is how different they are from one another, personally and professionally. This Diversity creates an endless combination of strengths and weaknesses each individual brings with them - in relation to each other, the association, the Board as an entity, their decision-making processes and management.

Professional Diversity.  From long-time homemakers to executives of Fortune 500 companies, workers from the public sector to entrepreneurs, military personnel to health care providers - there is no end to the combination of Board members’ professional diversity.  Each member’s professional training and experience lead to specific ways in which they problem-solve. For example, an insurance company executive may take a slower, more cautious approach to a problem because it is their training to see and understand what could go wrong. An entrepreneur – a risk taker by nature – just wants to get the job done and deal with the problems as they arise. Many years ago I had a retired homicide detective on one of my Boards who virtually refused to be a proactive, participating member of the Board. Instead, his modus operandi was to  lay in wait for the Board, management or a vendor to make mistakes and catch them at it, very publicly, every chance he could - just like his training and experience taught him.  

The Leadership Structure of the Diverse Board. Who takes what position on the Board can be very important in determining how well that Board functions overall.  These “structural dynamics” can have profound effect on whether or not the Board is able to gather information, deliberate, make decisions, take action and move forward. Suffice it to say that who becomes President affects the Board, the community and management in a very profound way.

The “scope of work” involved in being a Board Member.  Most new Board members have no real concept of the scope of work facing them once elected. New Board members are often surprised to find much of that work is political within the community, in addition to the “normal” functions of setting policies, choosing contractors, etc.  As management, we know and understand that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye in any community, but to some members who become Board members it’s truly a shock.

Development of Trust.  In new or established communities, a new Board of Directors has not had the time to develop a sense of trust with management, vendors, or even each other. The hardest part for them is they must begin to develop trust to work together, but they must work together to begin to develop trust. This period, this “no-trust” zone, can be very frustrating for the Board and for management, though either seldom realize the source of that frustration.

The Manager’s Relationship with the Board of Directors

Taking in to account all the combinations available when community members are elected to serve on their Board of Directors, we are reminded of how complicated our jobs as managers can be.  Many times, we make split-second decisions on how best to manage our new Boards without thinking about all of the variables that went in to each Board’s make up. Managers often make assumptions about their Boards that although may seem expeditious at the time; often prove to be counterproductive for everyone involved.  Here are some of the more common assumptions managers make about their new Boards:

The manager assumes instant cohesion among the Board.  Very seldom is a Board, especially a new Board, instantly cohesive. The Board members need to learn their own and each other’s boundaries, skills, strengths and weaknesses in order begin forming cohesion.

The manager assumes the Board will get up to speed very quickly on the issues facing them. Usually, this is not the case. In fact, overwhelming a new Board with information (such as the governing documents, a list of what is currently going on and, more importantly, a list of things that need to be taken care of immediately) will more likely paralyze them with Information Overload rather than move them towards making decisions.

The manager assumes the Board has, or should have, complete trust in him/her immediately.  Would be that it were true, but it is not. Why? Well, think about it: They don’t know you, they don’t know each other, they don’t know the business, and they’ve never worked together as a group. Trust is developed through experience and over time, and we have to live with it.

Management’s role is that of the outside consultant – despite our experience or desire to show the Board what we know and tell them what they should do. In the early stages of Board development, there is much to be said for management standing back and allowing that Board to grow into its own identity, whether we want to or not. By recognizing the many facets of the people who make up the Board of Directors, we acknowledge the community they govern is their world.

Bridging the Great Divide: Board Members v. Service Providers

March and May 2005

Board members and service providers are intrinsically tied to each other, having the symbiotic relationship of need and need fulfillment. Although things may start out just fine where everyone is on the same page, the relationship between service providers and Board members can grow contentious as time goes on because Board members and service providers seldom realize how their actions (or lack thereof) affect their relationship with each other.  A good working relationship is predicated upon trust and mutual respect.

When there is a loss of that trust mutual respect the relationship begins a natural progression downward. The relationship then settles in to an “Us v. Them” attitude. This attitude is what I call The Great Divide.

The Great Divide - Board Members:

Lack of Civility. Most of us wouldn’t dream of treating the people we work with, live with or socialize with in the manner that many Board members treat their service providers (and, at times, their homeowners).

Maintain Business Hours. Business hours are when business should be conducted. It shows respect for your service provider’s time, which is respect for them as a professional in their field. Plan your Board meetings earlier.  Think late afternoon or early morning.  

Professional Recognition: Another wedge in the Great Divide is the fact that service providers – and especially management service providers – are often not given credit by their Boards for being professionals in their field Board members often treat these management providers as nothing more than a glorified secretary or gopher who’s opinion means little and just gets in the way of the direction the Board wants to head.

Accept of the cost of doing business. Sending angry and emotional emails, making nasty phone calls, or being personally confrontational about sprinkler parts, copy charges, time sheets, hourly rates or what have you –  are not going to change those costs. And after months of this type of insidious behavior, your staff or service providers start becoming defensive because the message you are sending to them is this: I DON’T TRUST YOU.

Most managers or vendors don’t want to work for those who don’t trust them. The service providers become resentful.   And the Board member(s) become even more distrustful. The only end to the cycle is through a review and adjustment of the association’s oversight system, or the installation of a new Board or new service provider.

The Great Divide – Service Providers:

Contract bidding without all pertinent information.  Service providers should request and receive all the information necessary for them to bid the job. 

This one critical error of not obtaining the right information when you were asked to bid the job opens the Great Divide between you and the Board: No matter what the reason, you, the service provider have broken a trust before you started by pulling what appears to be a “bait and switch,” all because you failed to get all the pertinent information to bid the job right in the first place.

Low-balling the bid. Through ignorance or a deliberate act, many a job in the community association industry is bid too low, even with an RFP.

Service providers who provide a universal service to associations (example: management companies) one in which all types of services are provided for (virtually) one price don’t THINK they have the same type of empirical data that fixed asset/infrastructure contractors maintain, so these types of providers have a tendency – a big tendency – to underbid the job. An accurately bid job keeps the relationship between the Board and the service provider on a far more even keel: The provider can fulfill the terms of the contract for the price of the bid. Most reasonable Boards don’t ask for more than that.

Lack of appropriate service infrastructure. The nightmare for associations and their Boards is the contractor who bids the job, looks good, talks good – yet unbeknownst to all is a small company with a small staff insufficient to undertake the job.  Not only has this contractor broken his trust with the Board, he has inadvertently made the Board distrustful of the next several service providers with which the Board must work.

Having untrained or unqualified staff.  Be it painting, roofing, management or what have you. The Board usually  isn’t comprised of experts in provider services, and once they figure out there is some level of  incompetence on the part of the service provider, the Board feels they have no choice but to monitor every little thing going on, resulting in every service provider’s nightmare: a micromanaging Board

Poor communication. Many service providers are very, very good at what they do, yet aren’t so good when it comes to communicating with the Board and/or their representatives. As a service provider, if your communication skills are weak, know this is something you must improve. Good communication skills go a long way towards obtaining and retaining contracts with community associations and their Boards of Directors. Good communication creates a feeling of openness and honesty, and tells the Board that you respect and trust them enough to be there when they need you.

Making things better! How can service providers mitigate the loss of trust and mutual respect that often occurs between them and Board members? In a nutshell, get the information needed to bid jobs accurately and to the best of your ability, have the appropriate infrastructure to handle the job, provide the service as defined by contract and have open, accurate and timely communication with the Board and/or its staff. These simple affirmative actions go a long way in creating a relationship with that Board that will be built on trust and respect.

Bridging the Great Divide is that simple.

The Interview: What’s your goal? What’s their goal?

August, 2005

A skilled interviewer may appear to be asking rather simple questions that require only straightforward answers, but indeed they are not. The skilled interviewer may ask a single question, but how the candidate answers that question will tell the interviewer volumes about that candidate besides just the straightforward answer given.

So let’s take a moment to discuss some of the “standard” interview questions, the varied meanings and purposes of those questions, and the effects of how the questions are answered. 

Interviewer: (Actual Question) “Why do you want to work for us?”

The “Why” of this question: One of the reasons interviewers ask this is because they want to see HOW you will answer it: With finesse and aplomb, or with a sledgehammer? To wit:

Answer # 1: “Because I want to make more money. I’m all about money. And this position pays substantially more than I am currently making.”

The above is the sledgehammer approach. Although the candidate thought he was “just being truthful,” in reality this presentation of the truth almost lost him the position as it made him appear to be motivated solely by money.

Answer # 2: “I would enjoy the professional challenge that this position would present, and believe I would be a good match for the community. The remuneration package is also very attractive.”

Interviewer: “Do you have any questions for us?”

The Why: Many interviewers ask this question to find out if you have done your homework on the position available and have interest in it, and also to test your ability to think on your feet. Will you respond by asking about details, or will you respond expressing an understanding of the bigger picture?

Answer # 1:  “So, how much vacation time does a new hire get with this company, and how often do I have to be on call?”

Although these may be questions you want to ask, they are (usually) not appropriate at your first interview.  It tells the interviewer you are only there to see what the company can do for you, not what you can to for the company. If you ask the following question – you are expressing interest in their firm and their corporate culture, as well as the personal preferences of the interviewer.

Answer # 2:   “What are you looking for in a candidate for this position?”

Interviewer: “What salary are you expecting?”

The Why: This is a classic interviewing trap, and the interviewer wants to see if you recognize it, let alone fall in to it headfirst. The real question the interviewer is asking: How sharp is this candidate really? And, will they allow me to obtain their expertise for a below-market rate?

Answer # 1: Any answer with a dollar figure in it.

As a candidate, it is always better to let the hiring entity say the dollar figure first, unless you are absolutely sure that the figure you are going to quote isn’t 1) Too high for the position and you would be able to command that salary by virtue of your stellar resume, 2) Too low, making you look uninformed or desperate. Instead of quoting an actual figure, give a better spin to your answer without the risk of shooting yourself in the foot.

Answer #2: “I’m willing to look at any reasonable offer presented to me.”

Interviewer: “Why do you want to leave your current position?”

The Why: The main reason for this question is to determine if the candidate will bad-mouth their current employer, which indicates to the interviewer they’ll do the same to them, in time. Many job offers are lost based on a candidate’s answer to this one question alone. Bottom line: How professional are you?

Answer # 1: “Well, they promised me I’d only have to take on seven accounts, and that’s fine, but then seven became eight and then someone quit and I got three more accounts, and asked them for a raise and they won’t give me one and I am just exhausted from attending all those meetings. My boss is just crazy if he thinks I can keep up this pace!”

The above answer may be true, but only makes the candidate appear burned out and unprofessional. See the more professional answer below:

Answer # 2: “We have differing management styles.”

The Interview Wrap Up

This is what interviewing is all about for a candidate:

• Obtain an Offer of Employment with the best remuneration package possible.
• Leave a favorable impression even if you do not get hired today there is always tomorrow.

This is what interviewing is all about for the interviewer:

•  Do you have the necessary skill sets?
• Will you fit in our corporate culture?
• What added value can you bring us?

Remember that management positions aren’t just about how well a manager can take minutes or put together Board packs. It’s about how well he or she works and communicates with people, staff and clients, and how he or she presents themselves as a professional under many impromptu or difficult situations.  A manager’s ability to think on his/her feet is always part of the test. They should always be prepared for the interviewers questions by understanding their role in the hiring process.

And lastly, something we all need to remember, as interviewers or interviewees: The person hired by an organization becomes a frontline sales person for that organization. Literally, tens of thousands of dollars in revenue will rest on that person’s shoulders, and tens of thousands of potential revenue, as well.  For the interviewer, it is crucial that they hire the best talent they can. For the interviewee – this realization should make you think twice before going in to an interview unprepared.

Why Community Management really IS a great business

July 2005

So, what makes this business so great?

We’re growing. Our industry is growing leaps and bounds.  Existing management firms can barely keep up with the demand for service, allowing companies to better find their niche in the market and charge a fee more commensurate with the services they provide. Developers continue to build large associations and urban hi-rise communities aimed at the soon-to-be-retiring baby boomers.  And let’s not forget that our industry teems with opportunity for entrepreneurs as well, to provide goods and services to communities and those who manage them.

We’re recession-proof and outsource-resistant. I’ve been in this business close to 20 years, and I’ve seen the economy fluctuate wildly during that time. At no time did demand for services to community associations diminish. Neither did the demand for qualified persons to perform those services.  As for outsourcing, well, maybe we could outsource the production of financials, but I just don’t see an engineering student in Sri Lanka named ‘Bob’ taking service calls about dog poop or meeting with the Board over touchy political issues.

Jobs for all and forever (if you want). For the most part, our industry is not ageist. As long as you can do the work, you have the opportunity.  Management companies and associations value managers for their intellect and ability to perform, not for the amount of hair on their head.

Where we find satisfaction:

Problem solving.  It’s what we do all day long – solve problems for others. From the mundane to the bizarre, we are continually making things happen, or stopping negative things from happening by solving problems in one form or another. We develop confidence in knowing we can break down a problem to its basic components, proceed forward and ultimately solve that problem.

The intellectual challenge.  In our business, seldom does a day, let alone a week go by that there isn’t something new for which we have to stretch our brains, put pieces together (or take them apart) and come up with a working solution – or at least a working plan to find a solution. For some people, putting a wing nut on a widget hour after hour is fine. Those in community management thrive when there is an intellectual puzzle to solve.

Even more Great Things about this business… 

Lateral transfers. Unlike many professions, you can move just about anywhere in the country and make a lateral transfer in (comparable) salary and benefits.

Your retirement isn’t locked in with any one employer. As we look at the thousands of American workers who are losing/have lost or have downsized benefits and retirement, we realize how fortunate we are. Most management companies and associations now provide a 401k program, many with matching percentages that go with us as we move up and on in our profession. The company could go bankrupt, but your retirement is yours.

And finally… The People. Let’s face it - we love to work with people. Sometimes we can’t stand them, but we love them all the same.  All of us in the community management industry have had some absolutely terrific experiences with people, be they homeowners, service providers, or managers.

I suppose I picked these articles as “best of the best” because they all had to do with any manager’s – or executive’s – most pressing “people problems.” These articles outlined most poignantly not only the problems, but maybe new ways to look at them, giving us better insight in to how to approach our people and their issues in a positive and winning way. The successful community professional is always developing his or her skill on all levels, but people skills are always at the top of the list. And you know what? THAT is why this is a great business.    

And - oh yes - did I mention that it’s never boring?