Issue link: https://hub.associaonline.com/i/1071954
To help you become the best board member you can be, we asked experts to weigh in and share the advice they would give to someone who has never served on an HOA board of directors. Here's what they had to say. 1. Understand that disagreements will happen. "Disagreement is inevitable, and you cannot eliminate it. What you can do is control the tone and nature of the disagreement." – Mark Dodge, CMCA®, AMS®, President, Associa Desert Resort Management 2. Leave your personal agendas at home. "As an elected leader, you need to look out for the good of the community. Refrain from just taking on your own pet projects or focusing on your friends and neighbors - every decision you make needs to be unbiased and beneficial to all members. Enforce all rules fairly; don't give variances to some people because they are nice, and enforce on others because they ate the last hot dog at the community picnic." – Jesse Dubuque, CMCA®, General Manager, Associa Minnesota 3. Listen to the professionals. "Don't rely on your own expertise or lack thereof. The best board members realize they aren't the experts and that they must rely on the opinions of outside professionals to help guide them in their decision-making processes." – Janis Schock, CCAM®, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, Branch Director, Associa Northern California 4. Speak as one voice. "All board members choose to serve for their own reasons and not all decisions are shared as a unanimous vote. However, it's important to remember that when you step out of your meetings, you represent the board as a whole. This helps eliminate unnecessary confusion within the community and with any outside vendors or management, and will prove that you're working as a united front in the best interest of the community." – Erin Baker, Regional Sales Director, Associa 4 Best Pieces of Advice for New Board Members