One longstanding challenge for shared interest communities is that of recruiting members to serve on the board and the board’s subcommittees. Given that these are unpaid volunteer positions, many residents prefer to leave the job to others, claiming they have neither the time nor expertise necessary to serve the community well. 

The result of this is that those who do serve often serve for many years. While this does preserve institutional memory and provides administrative continuity from year to year, the hard truth is that without periodic infusions of fresh perspectives and new ideas, boards tend to atrophy. That can lead to some problematic outcomes, from financial mismanagement (even outright fraud) to deferred maintenance and eroding property values. That’s why it’s so important for boards and managers to cultivate and encourage their neighbors to step up and do their part by serving. 

Out with the Old…

The old adage about not putting all one’s eggs into one basket applies to condo and co-op boards as well, says Jessica Ruiz, senior vice president of management, Southeast, for AKAM management, a real estate management firm with offices in New York and Florida.

“The biggest mistake a community can make is allowing all of its institutional knowledge, relationships and decision-making authority to sit with one person,” she warns. “A strong president can be an incredible asset, but a truly successful president should also be thinking about who comes next. Succession planning should happen continuously. Boards should intentionally involve other directors in major projects, rotate responsibilities, encourage newer members to lead committees and make sure multiple people understand the association’s finances, contracts, capital projects and long-term priorities.”

 That makes very good sense—but how can a current board encourage more participation and investiture from more reticent residents? 

An approach that encourages change and growth in community governance also depends on those already in power. “In part,” says Michael Kim, of counsel with Chicago-based law firm Schoenberg Finkel Beederman Bell Glazer, “the existing long-term or long-time president must be open to sharing and developing his or her potential successor. Not everyone may be or should be groomed to be the future president; you should look to see who might be a good fit for treasurer or social committee chair as well. Some people are not so inclined, so the board needs to find logical and possibly creative ways to identify future leaders, as well as engaging the current president to be open minded and not feel threatened by this process, in which he or she will be significantly involved. As they say, the best predictor of a person’s future performance is that person’s past performance.”  

“Cooperative and condo boards shouldn’t wait until a longtime president or other board member announces they’re stepping down” before putting out feelers to identify potential successors, says Mark Hakim, a partner with NYC-based law firm Schwartz Sladkis Reich Greenberg Atlas. “The goal is [to assemble] a group of informed residents, so the building never depends on just one person.” 

To accomplish this, “Boards should regularly invite newer residents to attend meetings, join committees, and take on smaller projects,” Hakim continues. This approach avoids the scramble to find volunteers when something major is afoot and time is short. “Experienced members should share what they know. Bring others into meetings with management and outside professionals, and keep clear records of contracts, projects, responsibilities, and key contacts.”

Barriers to Service

The most common reason residents offer for declining community or board service is the lack of time. People have busy lives, after all, and most don’t immediately jump at the chance to add yet another commitment to their calendars. Lack of expertise is a close second, with shareholders and unit owners feeling that they don’t have the knowledge or skill set to be an effective, competent board member. 

A third roadblock is often the result of personal observation. Residents who attend annual meetings that are contentious, chaotic, and unproductive are unlikely to sign up to be the direct targets of their neighbors’ ire—and who can blame them? 

“Time commitment and liability concerns are definitely factors, but those can often be addressed by setting clear expectations, providing support and training, and making sure board members understand they don’t have to know everything,” says Jacquelyn Dion, vice president of management services for Evergreen Management Group, located in Bedford, New Hampshire. “The biggest barrier is often the atmosphere. People are willing to volunteer their time when they feel their efforts will be appreciated and productive. If meetings become contentious, overly personal, or focused on conflict, it can quickly discourage good people from getting involved. ”

Addie Acosta is the president of Lakeside at North Haledon Condo Association, in North Haledon, New Jersey.  She has served on her board for many years. “People assume serving on the board is a massive time commitment, or that they’ll be dragged into drama,” she says. “And yes, if a board is dysfunctional, that fear is justified—but when meetings are well-run and respectful, the barrier drops significantly. Liability concerns come up too, but once residents understand how indemnification and insurance work, that fear usually fades. The real challenge is convincing people that board service doesn’t have to be stressful.”

Getting Interested

According to the pros, one good way to get members interested in board service is to start small, with an invitation to join a committee working on a relatively low-stakes task, like a social event or a community beautification project. These types of tasks have an end date, which can remove concerns people may have about long-term time commitments, and they tend to generate goodwill among residents, which removes concerns about conflict with neighbors. There’s also an element of flattery; if your board thinks highly enough of you to invite you to help plan an event or guide design decisions for the whole community, most residents take that as a compliment and accept the invitation—and that can lead to more involvement down the road. 

“Committees are one of the best leadership pipelines available to a community,” says Ruiz. “Someone may not be ready to commit to serving on the board, but they may be very willing to spend a few months helping with landscaping, finance, social programming, architectural review, or a specific capital project. Committee service gives residents an opportunity to understand how the association operates while giving the board an opportunity to see how those individuals collaborate, communicate, and approach decisions. It’s essentially a leadership laboratory. You begin identifying residents who ask thoughtful questions, work well with others, understand the difference between personal preference and the interests of the entire community, and are willing to do the work. Those are often excellent future board candidates. The key is giving committees meaningful assignments and clear boundaries. A committee should have a defined purpose, rather than becoming just another layer of governance or a competing board.”

Term Limits - Pros & Cons

The problem of being unable to find anyone to serve on their board has a flip-side: having board members cling to their positions for years on end. One possible solution for both sides of the issue is to impose term limits on board members, essentially forcing seats to turn over after a set amount of time. 

There are compelling arguments to be made both for and against such a policy. “The pro for term limits,” says Kim, “is that you avoid entrenched and possibly stagnant leadership that perpetuates the status quo. The con is that you are forcing out good talent just for the sake of circulating talent, which may not be readily available. As I believe Charles De Gaulle purportedly said, ‘The graveyards of the world are filled with irreplaceable men.’”

Hakim concurs, and suggests a compromise if circumstances call for it. “I often get asked about term limits, and I generally advise against them. Most buildings already struggle to find people willing to serve, and term limits just create another hurdle by pushing out experienced, capable members. A better compromise is requiring someone to sit out for a period after a certain number of consecutive terms.”

Acosta offers a view from the inside as a long-serving board member. In her experience, “Term limits can be healthy. They prevent stagnation and ensure fresh perspectives. They also force boards to think about succession planning instead of relying on the same person year after year.” 

That said, she does allow there are downsides. “If you have a small community or limited volunteer interest, term limits can create gaps in leadership. And when a long-serving member steps down, unless you’ve been intentional about documenting processes, you lose institutional knowledge. So term limits can work best in communities that already have strong engagement and active committees.”

Orientation & Training

When a new member does join the board, it’s vitally important to set that person up for success from the start. That means investing thought and effort into orientation and training, so the new member doesn’t feel they’ve been dropped into the deep end of the pool with no guidance or support. 

“In a high-functioning community,” says Dion, “new board members should receive more than just a stack of documents. They should be given an overview of the governing documents, finances, current projects, responsibilities, and how the board and management team work together. I also think having the manager or an experienced board member spend some time with them is important—to walk them through how meetings work, how decisions are made, and what their role is.”

Kim stresses that orientation for a new board member should contain a balance of technical and legal instruction with an equal dose of real-world operational advice and information about how the community functions day-to-day. 

Along with the board, the other key component in making board service more attractive may lay with the community’s management company, if there is one.  A responsive, supportive manager in a well-run property is an ally and advisor to the board, and will make the idea of board service less ominous to residents.

Ruiz emphasizes that “the relationship between board leadership and professional management can make board service significantly more sustainable by providing structure, information and recommendations so volunteer directors can make informed decisions without becoming the day-to-day operators of the property.”

Fundamentally, the healthiest communities create a leadership ecosystem, with experienced board members providing history and perspective, and newer members bringing fresh ideas, committees creating opportunities for residents to become involved, and professional management providing continuity between leadership changes. “The bottom line message,” says Kim, “is that in a condo, co-op or other form of community organization, if you like what is being done—or if you want to change what is being done—then you need to get involved. That is the essential nature of communal living.” That message should be presented in such a way that residents desire involvement rather than spurn it.

A.J. Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. He may be reached at alan@yrinc.com.