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A Board Member’s Guide to Running Better Meetings

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3. THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE The Devil's Advocate's motto? Question everything. Even the things that seem to be obvious choices or insignificant decisions cannot be left unchallenged. Three "what if," scenarios and multiple choices later, they usually settle on the original proposal. As challenging as this person can be, it's good to have a devil's advocate around because the truth is, they care enough about the community to ensure that every decision being made has been thoroughly vetted. When they have the self-awareness to know when to engage and when to back-off, the devil's advocate can be quite valuable to your community's annual meeting. 4. THE PERSONAL AGENDA The person with a personal agenda feels strongly about an issue, but unfortunately, the problem usually only benefits their home or a small number of households. This could be a person who doesn't like one particular rule, even though the majority of community members do like the rule, and they believe it just has to be changed, and they will go on and on until they get their way. The board of directors, on the other hand, must make decisions based on the overall well-being of the community as a whole, not just a few homeowners. The best way to tackle a personal agenda is a strong group. The community manager should point out to the owners before elections that everyone serving on the board should be focused on the greater good of the entire community. Then, when election time comes around, if the personal agenda has made their case known, the meeting attendees can decide with their vote whether or not they want that issue dealt with on the board.

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