Diversity in Action Part 1

By Julie Adamen

All right. It’s a deep, dark secret, but I am going to admit it, I’m going to come out of the closet, right here and right now. My name is Julie, and I’m a Board member (“Hi, Julie….”).

There. I’ve said it. After all those years of being in management, and then a vendor, I’m now a Board member in a new community that has recently accepted turnover from the developer. I cannot begin to tell you what an eye opening experience it has been to be on the other, WAY other, side of the table. Participating in the development of a functioning Board as a member of that Board, is far different from being the manager of that Board. I only wish I had had this insight when I was managing as I would have been a better manager.

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.  

Let’s start by discussing two main factors in Board Development and their subsequent functionality: WHY they became Board members, and WHAT are their personal and professional profiles. 

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. Let’s look as some of the details.

An Agenda. Whether it’s to get the lawn mowed on Tuesdays, have flowers installed in front of their home because it is going on the market, paint the carports cherry red, or the lower dues by 15% because of they are on a fixed income, many Board members have a specific agenda they want to accomplish when they volunteer to serve.

Ego. Although I find it a pretty sad state of affairs that anyone would want to be on a homeowners association Board of Directors solely to satisfy their ego, it is a truth of our industry. Ego driven Board members have an agenda, and that is self-promotion for social or political status in the community.

Available time. Many homeowners who are seniors have a lot of time on their hands and are looking for something productive to do, so they volunteer for the Board of Directors. Those of us who have managed retirement communities know that usually there is little shortage of those willing to “help” in whatever capacity they are able, Board or Committee work, and are often invaluable in the administration of an association.

Major corporate changes have also given our industry a plethora of willing volunteers by retiring out executives and others who were probably too young to retire yet too old to start over. A lot of these folks are just plain bored and are looking for an outlet for their wisdom, expertise and pent up energy, so they figure that becoming a board member will help fill the void.

Personality.  Charisma, Leadership Abilities, Organizational Skills, or the best dinner hosts (or golfers) in the project, some people become Board members because they posses certain personality traits. Thus, by their own initiative or that of their (so-called) “friends” - they find themselves elected to the position of Board member.

A Sense of Duty. Despite all of the above, it’s my experience that in almost all cases, even the Board member with the biggest personal agenda has, somewhere deep down, a sense of Duty to give their time the association. They want to do what they think is right and this mayt be the biggest reason of all for becoming a Board member.  

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. Here are just a few:

All socioeconomic levels. Your Board members come from every walk of life, but usually you will have Board members in the middle – to upper-middle class to very wealthy due to the developer’s desire to market these groups with the community association product. The difference is this: They may now be on a even playing field economically, but some may have been born in to poverty while others were born to wealth, and everything in between. Where they came from economically will affect how they make decisions today.

Retirees. Lots of Board members are retirees because the association is made up solely of retirees (the Over 55 Associations), or they have the time on their hands and are willing to devote it to the Association. Retirees come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life, and  are influenced by their past careers and experiences as well as their current experience of being retired. Their perspective can be very, very different than someone in the working world, or someone with small children still at home.

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.   

Ethnic Diversity. Often your Board members will be an ethnically and culturally diverse group. Sometimes it may not be important, but at other times it can be crucial to understanding the dynamics of your Board. 

Male and Female.  Although there are no statistics of which I am aware, my experience as a manager and Board member tell me that women are usually the minority. Yes, well, we can all say that men and women are the same on Boards, but I think that’s just PC stuff. Men and women think differently, and our decision making process is different. One is not better than the other – just different.

Previous HOA Board experience – or not. People who have previously served on an HOA Board of Directors bring with them knowledge that the “newbies” don’t yet have.  For the most part, they understand the public political process, are able to come to consensus even though they may not agree on all details of an issue, and move forward. When I was a manager, these people made my life much easier – they “got it.”  They can also, as an “equal” to the new members, help bring those who have never worked or volunteered within a public or quasi-public structure up to speed a little faster than management can alone. 

I became a Board member because I felt a sense of Duty to the community at this very difficult time in its evolution.  I am also a middle class professional, who really doesn’t have enough time to devote to this undertaking, but there you have it. That aside, I am actually thinking about running for the next term (my husband still hasn’t stopped laughing) because believe it or not, it’s been a relatively satisfying experience.

And the reason I wrote this article – and the upcoming articles - wasn’t to get all touchy-feely about Board members and their state of mind. As managers, you have enough to worry about. These articles are intended to help you understand the dynamics of your Boards: By reviewing their reasons for becoming Board members, their personal and professional diversity, and to bring to light how those factors affect the Board’s decision making process and development. Understanding those factors can in turn help you adjust your management style, making you more effective in managing their communities.

As a manager, you may think that a Board is like a camel: A horse designed by committee. And frankly you aren’t too far off, especially in the beginning. Boards are about diversity and politics in a very simple, grass roots sense, even in what you may think is a homogeneous community.

More than like a camel, a Board is like a complicated martini – you know, one of those fancy-schmancy ones with 5 or 7 ingredients – shaken, not stirred. And though the ingredients may sound like they would taste awful, after they are allowed to settle and chill you find them, well, ok, or even pretty darned good.

Next month, we’ll talk about some other factors that affect the Board, some critical assumptions made by management, and how to help guide your Boards to better productivity (or letting go when you can’t).

Please click Under Standing Board Development Part 2 for the second part of this series.