Responsibilities of a Board of Directors for a Condo Association   It takes a village to run a condo association, in the sense that a board of directors serves in much the same capacity as the governing body of a small town. Once elected, members of the board of directors of a condominium association have specific and critical duties. These duties are included in the association’s bylaws, with which every board member should become familiar. Every condo owner may vote in board member elections, and a board member’s primary duty lies in acting with the best interests of the condo owners in mind. A board member should never act in his or her own self-interest. They are always representing the owners of the condo, and are held accountable by them. The number of board members depends on the individual condo association.   Everyone has something to say about the Boards Decisions, but not many want to become a board member! When an owner approaches me to complain about the decisions of the board of directors at his or her association is;  The First Question I ask is- “did you attend the meeting that decision was made at?” The Second Question is- “have you considered running for the board so that you can be part of the decision-making process?” All too often the answer to both questions is no. If you want to understand why your board makes the decisions they make and possibly influence those decisions the best way to do this is to attend the board meetings and comment on items you have knowledge or concerns about on the agenda. Want to take part in the decision making, step up, and run for the board. – by Royale Management Services   The vast majority of business decisions are made in meetings. While small decisions are made in all kinds of meetings, the more important decisions often get their own dedicated meetings. There are different types of group decision making processes, and care should be taken to choose a process that best matches the situation. A decision making process can include group activities like information gathering and sharing, brainstorming solutions, evaluating options, ranking preferences, and voting on the final options. Below are the most effective ways of running decision making meetings.     Primary Goals for Decision Making Meetings Goals for a decision-oriented meeting can vary a little based on the type of decision being made, but they are always centered on coming to a consensus about a future plan. It is important to remember that the goal of these meetings also includes planning how to best execute the decision that has been made.   Make the best possible decision If a decision making process is flawed and dysfunctional, the decisions will be bad. By involving a group in making a decision you can rely on collective intelligence; knowledge beyond what is possible with individual decision makers. Because each participant has unique information and perspectives, combining group information leads to more informed decisions. However, it is important to use meetings designed specifically for group decisions efficiently, to not waste the group members’ time. If all planning decisions were made by one person, not only would the choices be uninformed, there would also be little unity around team goals and direction.   Planning for execution When individuals feel that their opinion has been considered in the group planning, they are more likely to embrace the decisions and work to carry out those goals. Most discussions of decision making assume that only senior executives make decisions or that only senior executives’ decisions matter. This is a dangerous mistake. Participatory decision making leads to increased team productivity and likelihood of goal execution, because team members feel ownership and responsibility for the decisions made. Addressing both short term and long term goals at your decision making meetings is a great way to make sure team members leave with a direction and know the next steps. The short term plan can be as simple as outlining action items and assigning tasks. In the long term it could mean setting a timeline of general dates and milestones. Initial planning can be an effective way of aligning the group and cementing the decision that was made.     Key Roles in Decision Making Meetings The participants in decision making meetings may play different roles. Understanding the distinctions between these levels of involvement is a useful way of holding members accountable for their role in implementing decisions.   Meeting leader In order to avoid getting off topic it is recommended that one person be in charge of guiding the direction of team negotiation. In addition, it can be helpful to use some elements of status update meetings in order to have meeting attendees present and be held accountable for research into the decision being made.   Those with authority to carry out the decisions For decision making meetings it is particularly important to include all relevant persons with authority to carry out the decision. If decisions are made without including the relevant people, it can often be very challenging to implement the resulting decision. In some cases, it can be useful to dedicate one leader of a team to be a representative for that group. Often, this job is given to someone in a senior position, but it can be fulfilled by anyone capable of accurately reporting information on behalf of a group. If this method is used, the representative should be prepared to report back to the team the consensus that was reached. Without this information exchange, the group unity that should have been a result of the group meeting is lost.   Note taker and process observer Decision making meetings can often get derailed or become ineffective for a variety of reasons. To counter this, it can be helpful to include a note taker and process observer. These roles should be filled by people not directly involved in the decision so they are not biased toward any particular opinion. A note taker records … Continue reading Florida Condominiums