5 minute read
YOU GOT THIS!
By Kathleen Waite, CCAM
You’re certified. You’re experienced. You’re qualified. Be confident in your abilities and knowledge as a professional association manager to handle the most difficult situation.
We’ve all been there. You’re on a call with an upset owner who is an “expert” in everything related to their association. They’re furious that you are not helping them with a toilet leak, even though their toilet is their responsibility as a homeowner living in a singlefamily house. You try to get a word in, but they continue to talk over you. Or they’re upset that the HOA didn’t give them something they feel they deserve or are owed, but you as the manager know it’s well outside of your scope or duties to perform whatever work it is they are demanding.
You think to yourself, “Time to call in back-up.” While back-up is always great, as a manager, you should feel strong enough in your knowledge to know that sometimes, you’ve got this on your own. There are ways you can remain calm, professional, and also stand your ground and explain why maybe they are mistaken or even flat out wrong in their position.
This issue of Vision Magazine is focused on the next generation of managers, management, and what the future of our industry looks like. During our discussion of all of these facets of this multifaceted industry, a common theme emerged about either homeowners becoming younger, managers becoming younger, and how that dynamic could shift our industry.
The hypothetical above plays out frequently where an owner who is “wiser” than a young manager is confident they know more than this manager who has spent years in the field, thousands of hours on mastery of their profession and in many cases, has special certifications like the CCAM certification to prove it. Still, this manager sometimes lacks the confidence to stand up alone to bullies or antagonistic homeowners and board members. All experienced managers should feel empowered to stand up for what they know is right and have the tools to handle those difficult members.
TAKE TIME TO EDUCATE THEM
In my experience, the first line of defense is education. Teach that difficult owner what you know! You have spent hours upon hours poring over governing documents, attending classes to keep you up to date on HOA law, and in 99% of the cases, that owner yelling at you has not had even a fraction of experience with their own association as you have.
They need to understand what you understand so that you can communicate with them effectively. Explaining the pertinent sections of the governing documents or related civil codes can be an easy way to defuse the situation so that you and the other party are both looking at the same facts and getting closer to a mutual understanding. It is an all-too-common occurrence that an association member just genuinely has no idea what your scope of work is, what the association’s responsibilities are, and what they are responsible for individually.
Association living is not for everyone and it is another all-too-common experience that an owner buys into an association not fully understanding the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved. It is not always fail-proof, but a little education to someone who is new to association living can go a long way when done clearly and upfront. We have tools like CC&R sections or the Davis Stirling Act to reference as part of that education. While those items are not always cut and dry, they are a starting point to make sure everyone is on the same page as far as responsibilities.
SHOW EMPATHY
Having empathy is hugely important when communicating with residents, especially ones who are agitated. For the association manager, this is our job. There is a level of separation we have between our personal lives and the associations we work for. The owner who just had their bathroom flooded has just had likely one of their biggest, if not the biggest, investment of their life damaged. This is not even just an investment in most cases, but also their home.
We can all agree that having your home clean, safe and functional right now is more important than ever. There is a level of anguish any mishap can place on even the most well-adjusted homeowner that we need to be prepared to deal with as their association manager. As the manager, you should feel empowered to help this owner through their challenge, no matter how big or small. You can empathize with the owner and then use your toolkit of knowledge and experience to explain how you can help, or how maybe you can’t help and what they’ll need to do as part of their responsibility as the homeowner, and to answer their questions.
In this industry we can all say, “never say never,” but in reality, many of the issues we see come up are common for us, but uncommon for the average owner. Normal homeowners may deal with a single flood in their whole life. An association manager probably deals with it on a weekly, if not more frequent basis. Understanding that we are “desensitized” can help us be sure we consciously are empathetic with owners during their own difficult time.
It’s not that as a manager you can never ask for help. You absolutely should ask and should know when you hit the point where you need that back-up. There is a wealth of knowledge to be tapped in this industry and the lessons we can learn from those with experience is often immeasurable. It is being able to retain that knowledge and use it to your advantage that is most important.
You spend the time to learn the craft of association management and should feel confident in using it in all situations, especially those difficult ones we’re often presented with to guide you through future problems that will inevitably come up. And if you hit a wall, and are just not sure, there is no shame in asking for help.
Kathleen Waite, CCAM is the owner/president of American Management Services, Inc., a boutique management company based out of the South Bay area.
