Be The Expert

Tips on building trust and gaining confidence from your association board.

By Andrew Hay, CAMEx, CCAM-ND.PM

Think back to a time in school when you had a teacher that you learned the most from. What were they like? Did they have to spend countless hours looking up answers for the students or did they have most answers at the ready? Did they simply read from the textbook each day or did they apply anecdotal or real-life examples to help solidify the learning process for the class?

Now think to your style as a manager. Do you find yourself telling the board you have to research items that are on the agenda and being discussed in a meeting? Do you simply copy and paste sections of the governing documents or Civil Code to your homeowners and board members with no additional input or insight? As managers we are as much educators to our client board members as we are support for them.

If you have a portfolio of clients who simply dictate their decisions to you without ever soliciting your feedback or opinion, then you likely have fallen into (or inherited) the trap that many who struggle within our industry have succumbed to. This dynamic results in a much more difficult, and time consuming, way of managing associations and has been the undoing of many who have entered this industry.

If you are able to become a trusted expert to your clients and to build rapport within the communities you manage, you will find that your boards spend less time delaying decisions for ‘more information’ and more time focused on ways they can improve their community. Here are some simple ways to challenge yourself to become an expert and industry professional that many of your successful peers have become.

1. KNOW THE AGENDA/BOARD PACKET

This is the simplest and most important way to achieve trust with your clients. If you have prepared the board packets and agendas for your meetings, shouldn’t you be the person who knows the most about them? If you allow your clients to dictate everything that goes onto the agenda and then do not hold them accountable to provide backup for those items, how can you or the other board members be prepared to speak/decide on the matter? Nothing should be in that board packet or on the agenda that you don’t have at least partial working knowledge of and it is reasonable to ask your board members to provide you with details for anything they ask to have added to a meeting.

2. SHARE EXPERIENCES

This one is twofold. Successful managers can relate the experiences they have in managing other associations with their clients as a good way to develop trust and rapport. Additionally, successful managers share their experiences with each other, whether it be through internal company meetings or CACM and other trade organization events. There is always an opportunity to share your experiences and learn from others in the process, which you can then use to educate your clients.

3. PROACTIVELY PROVIDE UPDATES

One great way to build rapport is to anticipate questions or requests you get from your board members and provide them with the information before they even ask. Start with the big-ticket items (Hint: Anything that was on the previous meeting’s agenda/minutes) and then watch out for items that may pop up in between meetings. Chances are if you’ve heard from three to five homeowners on an issue, the board members will be made aware of the issue in due time. Giving them a courtesy heads up or update before they even find out about an issue will make them look and feel good and strengthen their confidence in you.

4. KEEP UP-TO-DATE

Subscribe to as many industry newsletters and magazines as possible. CACM has many resources available for its members and many industry partners have free newsletters you can subscribe to. This is a great way to proactively know what is coming for our industry before it becomes a rush item for a board’s agenda.

Attending industry events, including local forums, is another way to learn about current trends, upcoming changes/challenges and learn from shared experiences as mentioned above.

5. SPEAK UP

None of the ways mentioned above of building rapport and trust will be effective unless you develop this skill. Do not be afraid to speak up to your boards, which sometimes means correcting them, in a respectful manner.

Sometimes the board meeting is not the appropriate place to do this. Other times it is necessary to do so at a meeting to ensure your board members know you are serious about what you are telling them. A best practice is to put your recommendations in the board packet and then reference them in the meeting if a board is headed in the wrong direction. That way no one will feel defensive or ambushed when you redirect their course. Remember, you are the professional in the room and it is appropriate to act as such.

There are other ways you can successfully establish yourself as an expert and build trust with your clients. Each board is a unique and ever-changing group. Find what works best for you and be ready to apply that in your daily interactions with the homeowners and board members you interact with. When you establish yourself as an expert, you will find that your time and effort are maximized on the important items that must be accomplished.

Andrew Hay, CAMEx, CCAMND.PM is Vice President, Management Division of The Helsing Group, Inc.