Avoiding HOA Board Burnout:
Would These Techniques Improve the Lives of Your Board Members?
October 16, 2009
This week's tip is a double-header: I'm sharing two tips on
avoiding board burnout. First, limit the number of seats to fill.
The smaller your board, the more owners you have on deck that you
can ask jump in when current board members feel stretched to the
limit. "Don't ever go with a bigger board than you absolutely
need," says Bob Tankel, principal at Robert L. Tankel PA in
Dunedin, Fla., a law firm that advises associations. He told us, "I got a call recently from a board member from a
community with 35 units and seven people on the board. I said,
'Are you crazy? In Florida, you can amend your documents down to
three board members by law.' Get by on the smallest board your
state allows." Second, break positions into small pieces, wherever possible. "What scares people away from being on the board is the fact
that it's too much of a commitment," Bob told us. "If you can
take apart various roles and give everybody a teaspoonful, it's
better than everybody having to swallow a gallon." Bob explained, "You've often got people wearing two hats--a
policy-making hat and a policy-executing hat. You may be able to
get someone to say, 'I'll be the recording secretary. I'll come
to the meetings, take minutes, and leave. I don't want to be
tasked with making policy.' Or maybe you've got someone who's
willing to be in charge of security but who doesn't want to
attend board meetings. That person can just keep an eye out to
make sure people are following security rules and then let the
board know if there are problems. By taking apart the pieces of
what makes the association run and giving smaller pieces to
different people, you'll be a lot better off."
Get two more ways to fight HOA board member burnout--read our
new article (free access).
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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