By Ron Dionne Ron serves as President of the Westridge Swim and Racquet Club HOA in Woodbridge, Virginia. Westridge was named the 2019 Community Association of the Year in the Very Large category. Ron has served on the board for 5 years, was previously a member of the Covenants Committee and is actively involved in many aspects of the community.
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In With The : Transitioning a
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new board? But the old board was working perfectly…. We all know that change is inevitable and changing the composition of a board of directors is not a simple “plug in a replacement body to meet quorum.” So, how can we build a well-oiled machine? Let’s try using some best practices. Here are some basic assumptions: 1. Most new persons on a board probably ran for the position with some type of goal or agenda 2. Most have never served on a board 3. Most are unfamiliar with your governing docs 4. Most think they can speedily address and solve issues 5. Most have not given much thought to the BIG picture of being responsible for an entire association Did you find you new board member above? I think it is great that someone was interested enough to run for the board, but now it is the current board’s job to do some patient mentoring so every member can move forward. New members need to know that they
NEW Board
are important to the functioning of your “mini-government,” and each one brings new skills to the table. Have you considered a training session for the board? This is a great opportunity to bring in a third party, such as legal counsel to conduct the session. This provides a neutral ground where the entire board can share and benefit from the experience. Invite the other leaders in your association to attend, so everyone understands the board’s responsibility, authority, limitations, and how this is derived from the governing documents. Once the basic understanding is in place, the board can be fine-tuned to govern. What areas are your association trying to address? Try to match a member’s skillset or interest with that area and let that person run point for those matters. Have a “go-to” person for pool issues, drainage, technical support, etc. This gives a board member responsibility, ownership, and accountability. Association members have little issues and big issues. The board should address both, but not with the same urgency. The board’s priority is the big picture, but what issues
did the new member want to address by running for the board? Better yet, how will they address that issue now that they’ve seen the larger responsibility? Is that issue still a high priority? Re-addressing the issue with a better understanding of “how all the pieces fit” is a sign of board growth and cooperation. Communication is also a key consideration. Using Robert’s Rules of Order can bring focus to an issue and eliminate private discussions that detract from a meeting. Each member is important and needs to be recognized, in turn, to participate in a meeting. This is a team, so everyone needs to show respect, patience, and participation. Yes, PARTICIPATION is required and must be encouraged. There are 3 types of people: 1. Those who MAKE things happen, 2. Those who WATCH things happen, and 3. Those who WONDER what happened. An effective board member is one who makes things happen. Work as a team and you will accomplish great things! JUNE 2020
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