I had a conversation once with a young manager. She was learning to navigate the sometimes challenging terrain of management-board relationships. At the time she was working for a management firm that had, in my opinion, lost their way. At one of their company functions, a more experienced manager had shared an anecdote about golfing, drinking, and intense schmoozing with his board president. She concluded, “I guess it’s true – the best strategy for job security is being buddies with the board president.”
NO, NO, NO!
Our young manager had a misguided understanding of what customer service is all about on a deeper level in the specific field of community association management. How can managers and other professionals truly serve their community association clients?
What Are We Really Doing Here?
Miriam-Webster says a contract is “a binding agreement between two or more persons or parties.” I think there is a fundamental element missing from that definition. In order for the performance of a contract to meet the expectation of the parties, the definition should finish with the words, “…that provides mutual benefit to both parties.” A zero-sum gain approach to a contractual relationship is short-sighted. If the party performing the service is forced into a low-price box, or is otherwise constricted in the performance of their duties, the relationship often proves unsatisfactory and tends to be short in duration.
When the agreement is some form of service contract, one of the benefits to the client is they receive services that they do not have time and/or expertise to perform themselves. Digging deeper, that means a client is forming a partnership of sorts with a party who brings value to the table. The more mutual the benefit and the deeper the partnership, the more successful the relationship can prove to be.
Supervisory + Advisory = Partnership
Management contracts and position descriptions describe the work that will be performed on behalf of the client. This is proper and important, because it establishes expectations for service. It is describing supervisory functions. Yet, a contract or position description does not always describe the expertise with which those tasks may be performed. Furthermore, the greatest potential value of the relationship may be largely unstated, except perhaps in the fluffy marketing material provided in a proposal. Excellent management companies and professional managers are able to provide recommendations and guidance that can change the status quo and set the table for progress and improvements in the community. It is these services of an advisory nature that make the relationship most beneficial to the client. Yet, while most boards are happy to take management to task for deficiencies in their supervisory duties (and reasonably so), they may never get to the level of receiving or accepting advisory services. In the end, no one wins.
The Challenge? Fear & Schmooze
Some managers are afraid of getting fired. Some may be inexperienced. Some may lack confidence in their abilities. Boards may micromanage for any number of reasons. An “on-the-cheap” mentality may have led to a vicious cycle of mediocre service. Mediocre service invites micromanagement. A manager who never passes the test of capability in supervisory duties will never earn the trust necessary to be an advisor.
Some management companies are afraid of being fired. They fear telling clients anything that they think will put the contract at risk. This sometimes plays out in a blame game. Companies throw their own managers under the bus to appease an angry client and never deal with core issues. Saving the client by skewering your own people creates a cancerous organizational culture and impedes true partnership. It’s based on personality or politics, not leadership, values and vision.
All of these factors are unhealthy. They easily lead down the slippery slope of schmooze. Trading professionalism and respect for a shallow relationship based on low standards may keep the relationship going for a while. But no one is well-served, especially not the community members.
That is why I see this as so insidious. Community Association 101: Board members and the managers who serve them have a duty to care for the best interests of community members as a whole. Anything that works against that violates this fundamental principle of leadership and stewardship.
It’s Not Always Evil
Sometimes people just don’t know. A dedicated volunteer leader may not realize what is available. To illustrate: While performing an operational audit for a client, it became clear to me that volunteers had been performing management duties for a long time because they did not have a clear picture of what a professional could do. During that engagement, there was a need to find an interim on site manager. I was able to connect them with two PCAM-credentialed managers for short periods of time. Both of them blew the board away. A new world opened up to them over the course of a few short weeks.
When the Customer is Right
“The customer is always right.”
– Chicago Retailer Marshall Field, 1905
There are times when our clients are always right. Like when expressing how they feel about something. Or when they communicate an expectation. Whether or not a feeling is justified or an expectation is reasonable is a different matter. In the moment, it’s irrelevant. That IS how they feel, that IS their expectation. We spend too much time judging the feelings and opinions of others. It’s a damaging, waste of time. Just listen. Acknowledge. Identify.
When the Customer is Wrong…or Perhaps Uninformed…
Sometimes a manager’s conundrum raises its ugly head when a client has difficulty accepting reality. There could be different reasons for this. Fear, ego, or simply a lack of understanding can be powerful obstacles. In this critical moment, a manager may feel she has a choice – tell the client the truth, or tell them what they want to hear. The truth is, a professional manager has a duty to provide their best advice, whether it will be accepted or not. The art is in the telling. Managers with high will discern whether their challenge is in the timing of the message, its presentation, or both.
Rolf Crocker, CEO/Principle of OMNI Community Management, LLC, in Fair Oaks, California, is one of my favorite thought leaders in the community association business. He has a unique perspective and a knack for helping others reach clarity. He taught me a rhetorical device to guide clients to what should be an obvious answer. A version he usually uses is as follows:
“This is the point in the conversation where I ask you if you want to hear what you want to hear, or do you want to hear what you need to hear? If it’s what you want to hear, we can talk about the weather, the market or your favorite sports team.”
This approach is genius. He’s making his point while allowing his listener the room to make light of it – for a moment.
Getting to Mutual Benefit
Boards and managers need to be deeply rooted in the fundamentals of business, ethics, and leadership. Management has to suck it up and prove value, sometimes without being paid for it at first. It’s a tough row to hoe, but “trust me and pay me” won’t always work. Once the opportunity for value is proven, boards need to see that value, respect it and pay for it. We must be responsible for ourselves, remember who we serve, and stay true to that, no matter the short term cost. Tell truth to power, tactfully but unfailingly. Forging and maintaining successful partnerships is one of the most fulfilling human experiences we can have. Please don’t blow it by throwing away principles and relying on a relationship based on influence. Those come and go. Partnerships based on respect, trust, and shared values are those that last. Done right, everyone wins.
Is this a pipe dream in the commoditized and occasionally political world of community association management? Nope. I’m proud of the relationships I forged with the communities I served. I am also comfortable with the few relationships ended by one party or the other. Those partnerships were fatally flawed and needed to end. My principles remained intact and there are no regrets. I’m not alone. There are some great managers, companies, and boards out there who get it. They are profitable in every way. Just ask Rolf.
