Condo Association Management Blog

Solutions for managing condo association board dynamics

  

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I need some "personal" guidance for my condo association board of directors meetings. We are having trouble balancing communications here on the condo association board. How does one determine what discussions should be held in open forum meeting vs in a email. Where’s that fine line between open meeting requirements and discussing background information?? I tend towards the former.

Contracts, bids, progress on personally selected projects all belong in an open discussion and should not be email around for random comment beforehand. So as a result, unless management emails me something specific and urgent I let it wait till the meeting and actually we hardly talk at all anymore since the management company representative requires at least- reminders to get anything done.

So it got really boggged down in incomplete work and has caused a huge problem that required his boss’s intervention finally. But just when you think one thing is improving I have a 5 person board – 2 who were on a board last where the condo association President emailed everyone several times a day on every little thing - doing management’s work for him such as bid requesting and sending work orders out. I won't do this. So she often asked for 3 votes a day (on what I have no idea). And those BOD members who hated and insisted everything take place in an open meeting now are equally ticked that they have to wait until the meeting to hear what's going on. I was just told here's an example "ask for our input on the cleaning contract" and what changes we want. From my opinion when it's up for renewal management should bring it up at a meeting for discussion not emailed around for a bunch of comments.

Everyone has been given a chance to suggest a quarterly work program, a personal project for research, join a committee for general discussions. But of course they don't do anything but come to the meeting and then complain - even when they clearly didn't even look at the BOD packet ahead of time. So the proper balance in between is now so murky and frustrating.

Nobody's happy with anything and it's spinning out of control fast. Combine that with a huge renovation project that no one on the board of directors is making any effort but me to research and prepare for and a impending deadline set by the contractors that the BOD needs to meet or lose months of work on a bidding process (for the second yr in a row – different board president last time but 2 of the same members).

How does a president find the balance with a group of 5 where everyone has a history and dislikes each other; 2 who are never happy at all in life and are decision adverse; 1 who is a “politician” and always out for himself; and a newbie to the community and board of directors. I’ve led groups and boards and meetings for 20 yrs and this is one of the worst I ever seen for person dynamics and I’m at a loss for a solution and it still better than the former ones. HELP! IDEAS anyone?