6 STRATEGIES FOR STRONGER HOA BOARD MEMBER RELATIONSHIPS San Francisco HOA Management

Unless otherwise put forth in the governing documents, HOA board members are elected by homeowners. Their job is to build and maintain a successful community for homeowners and residents. If you’ve been elected to your association’s board, you may quickly notice that every board member you’re working with comes to the table with differing personalities, skills, past experiences, and habits. 

Everyone will likely communicate a little differently. 

Everyone will have different priorities. 

In order to work well together, HOA board members need to respect and develop relationships with each other. Having good relationships in place will not only allow all board members to work well together; but they’ll also be able to work better with the community, the HOA management company, vendors, and other local partners. 

We’re taking a look at six strategies that are likely to help board members build better relationships with each other and their neighbors/homeowners. 

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SAN FRANCISCO HOA BOARD MEMBER?

A good HOA board member will understand the importance of relationships, community, and communication. Your board will hopefully be filled with people who are passionate about where you live. Effective board members look for ways to improve the community, save money, and increase home values. 

Think about where your own strengths and weaknesses are as a board member. As you get to know your fellow board members, begin putting together an idea of who is best suited for:

• Consistency and efficiency.
• Communication and public relations.
• Money management, budgeting, and accounting. 
• Administrative and meeting organization.

A good board is comprised of committed homeowners who are honest, transparent, and willing to take risks and ask for help. You need people who are willing to delegate and work with a San Francisco HOA management company to ensure that none of the legal requirements or best practices get missed.

 Serving on the HOA board can be a very rewarding job because you get to meet a lot of people and make positive changes that benefit the community.

1. SET CLEAR AND SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS FOR EACH BOARD MEMBER AND THE BOARD AS AN ENTITY

Board members will get along better with one another when there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each individual member. When officers are elected and specific tasks or committee chairs are assigned, there is likely to be less conflict. You won’t have competing members trying to take charge and there will be accountability when it comes to completing action items. 

You want to count on each board member to manage the things that they naturally excel at. For example, your accountants and your economists should serve as treasurers or manage the income and expenses of the association. But, you also want to bring in board members who might want to learn new skills and participate in ways that are different from their current jobs or passions. 

A good idea might be to pair board members up. Have each task or responsibility assigned to a two-person team. There’s less of a chance that one single board member will get overwhelmed with what they have to do. And, with a team approach, you can let your board members learn new things. 

It’s also possible to rotate duties among board members every quarter. This will build skills and knowledge and it will ensure that no single board member is dominating any one part of the process. 

These ideas are likely to contribute to a more collaborative effort within the association, bringing board members closer together. 

2. ENGAGE IN TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES AS A BOARD

It’s easy for an HOA board to quickly get busy with the needs of their building. Before you begin investing almost all your time into taking care of collecting dues and fees, planning meetings, and communicating with homeowners, spend some time building your team. Team building exercises can increase communication and build trust. 

Making this investment will build a stronger board. You’ll get to know your fellow board members, and your relationships will be deeper and more collaborative. 

Here are some of the best reasons to dedicate an afternoon to a few meaningful team-building exercises:

• Communication between board members will seem more natural.
• Productivity will increase as you get an idea of how each person works best and what their skills and talents are.
• Morale on the board will be elevated and barriers you don’t even know this exist will have an easier time coming down. 
• Motivation and inspiration will increase.
• You will easily identify the natural leaders on your board.
• There’s a focus on creativity and problem-solving.
• Confidence among board members will improve.

Team building activities have also been shown to have a positive impact on the mental health of those who participate. Having a board that’s mentally healthy and energetic will only help your entire association.

Plenty of games, activities, puzzles, and role-playing exercises can be used to create motivational and meaningful team-building opportunities for your board. 

3. EMBRACE A CULTURE OF ACTIVE LISTENING 

Most of the people you come across are likely to listen only in order to respond. 

Instead of waiting for a chance to speak, you and your fellow board members need to listen in order to understand each other. This type of active listening should also extend to situations where you are listening to homeowners, vendors, management partners, or others. 

Active listening will build better relationships. 

Never assume that you know what the problem is or what someone is going to ask. Stay quiet while they are speaking, and take the time to focus on what they are saying. Ask questions to draw out more detail, especially if you need clarification. Don’t respond until you have all the necessary information. 

You might find that in some cases when people are complaining or venting, they’re not necessarily looking for a solution. They just want to be heard, and your only job is to listen. Model this behavior on the board, and work with your leadership team to commit to active listening. You’ll get along better and you’ll serve your community better. 

4. MAKE COMMUNICATION A PRIORITY

Everyone knows that communication is the foundation of all healthy relationships. If board members are not communicating well, it will be nearly impossible to work together. 

Keep every member in the loop. There will be a lot of hurt feelings if half of you are earnestly discussing an issue of importance but leaving a lot of other members out of the discussion. Lean on technology to help. Set up a group chat or a Facebook group that keeps everyone in the loop. There’s less of a chance that someone will miss something important or feel left out.

Your board communication needs to be direct, transparent, and productive. Don’t fall into the traps of gossip, exaggeration, and spinning out of control over unsubstantiated rumors. 

5. SAN FRANCISCO HOA BOARD MEMBERS MUST SUPPORT EACH OTHER

Find out how you can help other board members who may be feeling overwhelmed. If it’s tax time and your board treasurer is working late every night to keep up with the accounting, offer to pitch in. Delegating and dividing labor is collaborative and supportive. Board members will appreciate each other a lot more if each individual member is willing to help out in areas that are not necessarily their own responsibility. 

6. EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL SAFE MAKING MISTAKES 

If and when something goes wrong, don’t be the first to cast stones. You don’t want to make someone feel bad about something they did wrong, because you could find yourself in the same situation. 

Stronger relationships will be built and nurtured when your board members feel safe making mistakes. Be supportive and work together towards a solution and those mistakes will seem less terrible and more solvable.

Checks and balances should always be implemented to prevent the kind of mistake that can cost a lot of money or put the community in jeopardy. Take some time to examine your processes when mistakes do occur. This will help you look for ways to improve. 

Better Community Relationships

Here’s the good news: When your board members develop good relationships, you’re more likely to have a community that fosters good relationships. Board members need to demonstrate leadership and model good behavior. The homeowners you represent will notice. 

SAN FRANCISCO HOA MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIPS

Working with a professional HOA management company in San Francisco can help you build a stronger board. At BanCal Properties, we’ve been helping the HOA boards we work with take care of business since 1987. We can make sure your board members are supportive and your team is cohesive.

To hear more about how we can help your HOA board, please contact us. We also welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions for topics you want to learn about, so please share those too. We’d love to address a question or hear some of the things you’ve done to build better relationships among board members in your San Francisco HOA.