Who Will Win the Championship?
By Julie Adamen

Click here to read this article in PDF in part of the September 09 HOA Manager NewsLine.

September. I can't believe it. The summer just whizzed by in a flash. Now I see school buses on the road, and at least where I live, there is a definitive nip in the early morning air. I was speaking to a colleague the other day about this fast-forward summer… And then we moved on to the subject of how managers and executives approached problems. I regaled him with an incident that recently happened in which I was involved. When I concluded the tale, the colleague remarked upon it by saying the manager involved handled it poorly, and that method was   "very old school." Inspiration! Funny thing how yellow buses and cooler temperatures can turn in to how we in the management industry approach problems. Is our approach "Old School" or "New School?"  And which is better? Let's get a new pack of pencils, throw on our backpacks, get some lunch money and find out which school we are attending: Old, or New?

Old School: The Passive Management Approach.  "Uh, what do you guys want to do?"   In and of itself, that phrase may seem a helpful and innocuous question; however, when used by a manager to a Board with the intent of sliding through the profession of community management unscathed by its slings and arrows, it's very Old School and nowadays almost completely ineffective in terms of keeping in the good graces of a Board, or just keeping a job.

In my many discussions with executives, I am told that Board expectations for their managers are now very high: They demand competence and professional literacy, and they want their managers to be active participants - partners if you will - in the management of their communities. The passive manager won't survive.   Grade: C-.  Teacher comment:  This student needs more fiber in their backbone.  Report to the nurses office for referral to a physical therapist.

New School : The Proactive Management Approach. "I've done some research, and here is where I think we can make an improvement."  The manager sees the problem, maybe before the Board does. Regardless, she takes it upon herself to do some research, bring the pertinent information, and give the Board options on how to deal with a particular issue in a timely manner.  This is a professional, timely, and proactive approach. The Board is happy, and the manager understood that her time is well-managed when she gets to the problem - and the solutions - first Grade: A

Old School e-communication: ALL CAPS AND NO THOUGHT. Example: "GET RID OF THE GOPHERS NEAR MRS. S' UNIT. SHE DRIVIN ME CRAZY WITH HER STUPID PHONE CALLS. I COULD STRANGLE THAT WITCH!"  Driven by frustration, the manager fires off an email to a vendor without thinking much of the consequences or content. The manager is thinking, "The pest control company will take care of the problem, and besides, I know that vendor he's great, he's a friend, and sending an informal email is no big deal." Most of the time, that's true. But woe unto the manager who, one month later, discovers that this email is on a thread that has been forwarded to the Board President - a good friend of the gopher lady. Grade: D-.  Teacher comment: See me after class. THAT IS IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!   

New School e-communication: Email that is written as if for public consumption."Gophers reported near the unit of Mrs. Smith, 123 Happy Lane. Please verify and then remove them as soon as possible. Please let me know the outcome and when completed. Service order attached."  This is much better for the Board President to see this email than the one above. Calm, professional, collected. Even when you don't feel that way, you must project that image when you are sending an email to anyone that is work -elated. The "New School" manager knows that anything written might have a larger public audience. Grade: A.

Old School delegation: Delegation? No way! I have to do everything myself or it won't be perfect!
Look at me! Busy! Busy! Busy! Doing everything and being everything to everyone! Little Martyr Mary, in the office until 10pm every night because she and only she can do things the right way!  …Even though she has been offered help on numerous occasions, and even has an assistant who leaves the office at 5pm, shaking her head.  In short, this manager will have self-inflicted burn out. Grades: Effort: A. Execution: D-. Teacher comment: Please report to the school nurse for psychological testing.

New School delegation: Let go of control, delegate and empower others. "I can't do it all and do it alone, I need help." None of us has a lock on the only "right way" to do everything. New School thinking means you get over yourself, recognize you are not indispensible, mentor the people under you, give them projects, let them help and show initiative, stay out of their way and bring them up. "Give up control even if it means the employees have to make some mistakes." [1] Grade: A-.  

Old School vendor relations: The Bully Manager. "Unless you do it my way, you'll never work in this town again"!  That phrase just about sums up the adversarial relationship that some managers still insist on using to get their way, right or wrong.  I actually had the gist of this phrase used on me about two months ago by someone who you would think would know better.  The point is every time this bullying tactic or some form thereof is used on a vendor, managers and executives only diminish themselves and lose critical credibility (and by the way, I don't know of any vendor who "never worked in this town again"). Bullying is always short-term thinking based on emotion, rarely successful and it's very, very Old School. Grade: F-. Teacher comment: Find your track shoes. You'll be running laps until the cows come home.

New School vendor relations: Partnering with vendors to better your communities.  This vendor is competent and professional and will bring value to the community (ies) I manage. The manager returns vendor phone calls or emails in a timely manner, pays them on time and treats them with respect.  Having a partnership with those vendors' means you can rely on them for expert (usually free) advice when needed, and all the vendor asks is to be considered for the next contract. New school thinking realizes the qualified vendor is an equal, not a servant, and a crucial partner in the overall professional management of community associations. Grade: A.

Old School training: Sink or Swim.  Let's throw her in the well. If she floats, she's a witch, if she dies, she isn't… wasn't…  This Salem-era method of determining who was a witch and who wasn't seems a little counterproductive - not unlike our still and continuing method of training new folks in the business by throwing them into the abyss to see if they can handle it.  Yes, this primitive method is still out there and flourishing. Grade: D. Teacher comment: This is wasteful misuse of potentially good talent and although this method can and has worked with some employees, including yours truly, it is not advisable for anyone who is not under the care of a psychiatrist.

New School training: Mentoring, classes. Shadow a senior employee, form a pod of managers, dedicated middle management, take all professional classes available. The good news is that as time goes by, some of those who were "thrown in the well" are now moving to executive levels - and when they can, they are trying to avoid the sink-or-swim method of training managers through whatever means are available. New school means giving managers as much support and educational tools as possible, to not only to service the clients well, but to keep them in the business. Grade A.

Old School Board education: None.  I don't want my Board out there getting any new ideas! The theory here is that the Board will only look to the management company for direction and advice and also will not know competence for incompetence. Keeping Boards in the dark about industry happenings, information and educational opportunities so they will only look to management for direction and advice is such short-term thinking that borders on negligence. Very paranoid "Old School."  Grade: No grade. Teacher comment: Student, report to detention immediately!!

New School Board education:  Open flow of industry information. I want my Boards to know as much as possible about the industry. It's good for me, and it's good for them. Information empowers your Boards to make appropriate, informed decisions in the matters they face. In addition, the networking opportunities for them provided by attending industry functions tells them they are not alone - that other Boards face  similar issues. New School thinking says it's your job to be a conduit of information to your communities. Those that embrace this concept find Boards easier to work with, and the Boards themselves are more confident in competent management. Grade: A.

Old School executive involvement: Only contact with the client is by the manager. The manager quits and takes the account(s) with him to another company. This happens, but usually I find the reason the manager was able to take the account(s) with him was because the Board(s) had no company relationship other than that manager and thus no company loyalty.  Very Old School. Grade: C-. Teacher comment: This student has only shown up to class once, then I never saw him again.

New School executive involvement: Middle/executive management has regular contact with the clients. You don't have time to touch base with every client every month? You don't have time NOT to. New School methodology would be a business strategy in place that provides for the executive(s) to have regular contact with each Board of Directors by phone, e-mail, company newsletters or all of the above. Authority is not taken from the line manager but is supplemented by supportive communication that strengthens the bond between company and client. This relationship development model doesn't guarantee accounts won't be lost when a manager leaves, but it does help mitigate that scenario. Grade: A.

Old School business practice: Passive planning, or "Management of the Moment." "Passive planning happens when leadership allows the raft to travel downstream at the mercy of the current rather than steering, rowing, and turning. This kind of non-planning eventually leaves you unprepared to face whitewater rapids." [2]  And those rapids came with a gush as soon as the economy tanked last year. Those in the Old School say "Why plan? It won't change anything!"  Those that practice that "Management of the Moment" are now reaping the non-benefits of non-planning as they scramble to maintain enough profitability to stay afloat.  Grade: D. Teacher comment: I have no comments for this group of students. In fact, I lost my way between the teacher's lounge and the lunch room because I forgot where I was going.

New School business practice: Principle-centered planning. "Principle-centered planning is the key to effectiveness. It is the artistic or leadership approach. Principle-centered planning recognizes that life in general (and people in particular) can't be graphed on a chart, but sees that planning still remains essential."[3] New school thinking means, yes, things change and maybe this part of our business plan won't work down the road, but we are flexible and will adjust that plan to changing circumstances as we go along. The business has a compass; the compass is our business principles and our business plan. The compass always points north in the direction of success. We may falter and go south or west for awhile, but we know where our north is because we have that compass.  Grade A.  

Old School staff meeting: What? I'm too busy to hold a staff meeting. They know what I expect of them. Don't be so sure. Assuming your staff is on the same page as the executive team just because you haven't heard anything to the contrary is very Old School. Not involving all employees in regular meetings keeps the line staff from having any ownership in the well-being of the business. It also promotes an "us v. them" attitude: The staff thinks the executives are out of touch, and the executives think the staff is ungrateful. As many an executive (and parent) has learned the hard way - they are often the last to know what's going on with their managers, sometimes not until it's too late. Grade: D. Teacher comment: I will be unable to meet with you to hear your concerns regarding this grade as I no longer meet with students. Get over it.

New school staff meeting: Weekly, bi-weekly. Build partnerships between executives and staff. Executives and staff are all on the same team, working on the same goal: A sustainable business with a well-managed clientele. The only way to achieve that goal is through a sustained partnership between executives and staff that promotes ownership in the business process of the company. Regular staff meetings help all employees buy into, and have ownership in, the health (and wealth) of the business. Grade: A.  

Old School action: Get 'er done. Grade: A. 
New School action: Get 'er done. Yesterday, today, tomorrow: It's still the same. All the bells and whistles in the industry mean nothing if you can't get the job done: Emails and phone calls returned, the lawn mowed, the buildings painted, Board packets out, bills paid, the dues collected.  Get'er done. Grade: A's all around. Teacher comment: These students (from both schools) are a pleasure to work with, as they know they can bring me all the apples in the world, yet, there is no substitute for actually completing their work on time. Grade: A. 

Which is your Alma Mater?

Teacher comment: As you can see, the New School folks finish this semester with A's all around. They continually exhibit an understanding of the leadership, communication, people- and business-management skills needed to not only exist, but indeed thrive in the field of community association management.

Earlier this year I wrote about how this economic downturn would shake out the top folks in the industry - from individual managers to management companies as a whole - from all the rest.  It didn't mean that these Old School folks and companies would disappear completely, but it did mean that the differences between New School methodology and Old School methodology would be glaringly obvious. It begs the question: Which is your alma mater?

Teacher comment: Class dismissed!