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When most people think of the homeowners association, they consider a range of busy bodies who want to tell them what to do and what to put on their lawn. The thing is, if you’ve been elected as a homeowners association leader, then you’re either going to enjoy that fact or you’re going to hate it. You want to be able to be a good leader and a good part of the community and that means knowing how to speak to other people and lead them in a way that is comfortable without being bossy and friendly without being annoying.
Becoming a board member for your neighbors homeowners association is a big deal and it’s an exciting position to be in. If you want to have a voice in your community then this is what’s going to get you that voice. You’ll be a part of the decision making and the collaboration of the environment as well as the community. And as different communities have different needs, you’ll also be involved in conversations regarding Whether to enforce parking that is smart or to build a car park in your local space. If there’s anything that a good leader should have, it’s a sense of fairness and transparency. Nobody needs to be led by somebody who’s effectively acting like a dictator. You don’t have to be that way, so let’s take a look at some tips to ensure that you are a top homeowners association leader.
- Have a little self-awareness. You have to remember that you are a human being as is everybody else in the community. There are plenty of leadership books and blogs out there that will talk about the value of emotional intelligence and it’s super important that you have that self-awareness. You need to be able to understand how your emotions impact the way that you make decisions and interact with other people. If you want people to follow you, and you want people to listen to you, then you need to be able to have that strong sense of self-awareness to carry you through.
- You need to know what’s happening, always. Situational awareness is just as important as self-awareness. Not only do you need to know what’s happening in the world around you, but how to handle it. As a board member of the homeowners association, you need to know whether you have to mediate or diffuse situations. There might be arguments that come up between neighbors and those who break the homeowners association rules, but it’s up to you to enforce those rules and ensure that everybody is living and working harmoniously together.
- You must always be objective. A HomeOwners Association leader who wants to be respected needs to be objective. You can’t put your own personal biases in place, because that doesn’t make you a good leader. For example, playing favorites or listening to the Warriors and the wishes of those who are your friends in the neighborhood won’t make friends with everybody else. You have to treat everybody fairly. So if you are trying to implement a parking system, for example, then everybody must abide by the same rules, even if it doesn’t afford you any new friends.
- Always be proactive when it comes to communication. You won’t be able to foresee every single change or every single issue, but you can certainly listen when one turns up. It’s not always easy to win people’s trust, but transparency earns respect, and that in turn earns trust. If you are transparent and you are proactive when it comes to speaking with your community, you’re going to find yourself in a much better and simplified position. You can be an excellent leader without being somebody who’s ignorant.
- Always compromise. Managing your duties as a homeowners association management team member is going to be difficult. That doesn’t mean you can’t compromise. You need to make decisions for the well-being of the community and that means ensuring that you are forward thinking with everything. You have to serve the needs of the community, and sometimes to do this you have to put your ego on one side. Managing your members of your homeowners association isn’t always going to be straightforward, but if you are looking at compromising and working with the people in your neighborhood, you’re going to find them much more amenable to any changes you want to make.
It’s a big task to take on a leadership role when it’s the first time you’ve ever done it, but it’s something that you’re really going to appreciate yourself for and add to your repertoire of things that you can do. Don’t be surprised if it’s difficult at first because nothing that’s good is always easy.
