Find Your Way with CACM’s Professional Pathway

For the past 25 years, CACM has been at the forefront of professional development in the California community management industry. We’ve learned a lot ourselves over that time, and the knowledge and experience we’ve gained has allowed us to create a clear pathway for our members’ professional development and success.

Whether you are new to the industry or an experienced industry thought leader, CACM can help you reach the next step in your professional journey. We recognize that your development needs change as you move from one phase of your career to the next. Typically, the way you learn – and corresponding, the way that knowledge needs to be delivered – change just as much as the educational content itself.

Just getting started? You’re in the Core group. You need to gain a fundamental understanding of the industry and the knowledge required to perform your basic job responsibilities. At this entry level stage, learning is mainly achieved through traditional classroom based programs. CACM offers a number of live courses – HOA Core Principles, Basics of Association Management (BAM), Ethics and California Law Series I - IV – as well as live Forums. For improved efficiency and immediate feedback, all course exams are now done online.

When you have a couple of years under your belt and perhaps have risen to a supervisory level, you’ve moved into what we call the Experiential group. You have gained knowledge and skills both on-the-job and through coursework. You understand the basics. Now you are ready to take your learning experience a bit higher and to sharpen your focus in specific areas. To meet your needs at this level CACM provides live and virtual courses as well as live events. Offerings at this stage of the pathway include Intermediate Courses, Specialty Programs, Forums, Law Seminars and Member Mixers.

A few more years down the line, and you’ve not only developed a broad array of knowledge and skills, but also internalized that knowledge and successfully applied it. You know how to do your job and do it well. You have risen in the ranks of your organization or association and now serve as a General Manager or Executive. At this stage – which we call Internalization – you are learning from your peers and other industry professionals through interaction and observation. To provide opportunities for this type of social learning, CACM offers live and virtual courses and peer to peer events. Specific offerings include Specialty and MCAM programs, Forums and Law Seminars, Summits and Advanced Courses.

Mastery is the final stop on CACM’s Professional Pathway. As the name suggests, individuals at this level have mastered all aspects of community management. They are typically senior executives and industry thought leaders. They haven’t stopped learning, but their focus is more strategic – both for their own businesses and the industry as a whole. They learn through collaborative discussion and debate with other leaders and through participation in industry working/idea generation groups. Another key activity for individuals at the Mastery level is giving back to the industry and sharing knowledge with those at earlier stages in their development. CACM programs designed for this stage include the Executive Leadership Summit, CAMEx Roundtables and various Advisory Groups. CACM also offers formal and informal opportunities to draft articles, speak at events, teach and mentor.

No matter where you are on the pathway, you belong at CACM, and we have much to offer you. Want to learn more about how you get to the next stage of the pathway? We are establishing a new role of Career Counselor to help you plot your course. Of course, any member of the CACM team will always do whatever they can to answer your questions or find additional guidance. Bottom line – we are deeply committed to your professional development and helping you get where you want to be. We are here to serve you!

CACM Professional Pathway

Core Experiential Internalization Mastery

TARGET GROUP Entry Level

LEARNING STYLE Traditional

FLEX DELIVERY METHODS Live Courses Online Testing

OFFERING TYPES HOA Core Principles BAM/Ethics CA Law I - IV Forums TARGET GROUP Supervisor

LEARNING STYLE Experiential

FLEX DELIVERY METHODS Live & Virtual Courses Live Events

OFFERING TYPES Intermediate Courses Specialty Programs Forums & Law Seminars Member Mixers TARGET GROUP GM/Executive

LEARNING STYLE Social

FLEX DELIVERY METHODS Live & Virtual Courses Peer to Peer Events

OFFERING TYPES Specialty & MCAM Programs Forums & Law Seminars Summits Course Instruction TARGET GROUP Senior Executive

LEARNING STYLE Strategic

FLEX DELIVERY METHODS Live (Collaborative) Project Contributions

OFFERING TYPES Executive Leadership Summit CAMEx Roundtables Advisory Groups Mentoring & Giving Back