September 25, 2009

Some community members seem to think that their HOA board should be available 24/7 to listen to every and any complaints, suggestions and comments. This week's tip comes from a new article about setting boundaries to protect yourself (and the rest of your board) from this common problem.

Elizabeth White, a shareholder and head of the community associations practice at the law firm of LeClairRyan in Williamsburg, Va., hears board members complain about this issue often. "A lot of it comes back to setting boundaries and expectations," she says.

"What I communicate to association members is, 'Being on the board is a volunteer position. You have lives and jobs, and board members have the same. They're committed to you to lead this community. But just as you're not on call 24 hours a day, neither should they be.'"

Elizabeth adds, "There needs to be a balance between board members being responsible and everybody realizing this is a volunteer position—and that needs to be explained proactively, not after there's a problem."

Today's tip is to take that proactive approach. Think how and where you can convey this concept to your community—whether it's your next newsletter or a message on your HOA website, or through some other means.

And for more tips on successfully setting boundaries so that your volunteer board position doesn't become a 24-hour job, see our new article. (Go there now.)

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President

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