Condo Media - June 2021 - 27

When COVID-19 threatened us all with sickness and death in 2020, the loss of those we
loved and those who were important to our lives became a very real possibility. When we
were locked down at home, we had plenty of time to fear what our future would be like
if the Coronavirus changed the cast of characters in the dramedy of our lives.

Hopefully, as we see the vaccination
providing us with protection against
the virus, we no longer have such an
acute concern about losing someone
who is important to us.
Leadership succession at selfmanaged community associations,
or more often the lack of a succession
plan, can create this same kind of
fear of the future. In fact, the loss of
a key member of the board or staff is
statistically far more likely to occur.
It's not a possibility but a probability
that someone will move out or on to
the next phase of their life.
PICKING UP AND
MOVING ON
When self-managed associations
suddenly lose a key person, i.e., the
site manager, a capable trustee, or
the superintendent, it can cause a
major disruption in the equilibrium
of the community. Whether it is a
benign parting or a combative one
matters little. The whole organization is impacted and forced to deal
with the loss of an important person,
which can be difficult to handle. The
routine, comfortable operation of the
property changes, and the self-managed community and the board must
adjust. Sometimes, someone with
a similar skillset can be found and

things can return to a semblance of
the old order, but more often, a new
member to the management team,
especially one without historical
knowledge of the association, causes
things to carry forward in a different
way. In many cases, this fresh order
is not a bad thing, as it may bring
new expertise, vision, and focus, but
change, any change, always places a
stress on the self-managed community and board.
A self-managed association generally operates with bare bones professional staffing. A larger community
might have a site manager and office
administrator or a bookkeeper
who work directly for the association. There may also be a facilities
person who takes care of the upkeep
of the property and oversees contracts and projects. Each member of
the staff handles specific duties that
are vital to the operation of the community, so when one of them leaves,
the knowledge of that aspect of the
operation of the property likely
leaves too.
In the management of smaller
associations, usually the trustees are
hands-on individuals who divide the
work load, with each taking responsibility for some tasks. One board
member may handle the financials,

When self-managed associations suddenly
lose a key person, i.e., the site manager,
a capable trustee, or the superintendent,
it can cause a major disruption in the
equilibrium of the community.

another maintenance projects,
and another administration and
correspondence, etc., but more
often than not, a single trustee carries the major burden and is essential to the successful management
of the community. When that person
leaves, things may become a major
challenge to those left behind.
Succession security is seldom
part of a community association's
strategic planning. In fact, in the
past, some large national financial
organizations resisted creating a
succession plan until forced to do
so following a banking meltdown.
In a large business corporation,
with many qualified and ambitious
staff members, grooming employees
for an executive replacement is an
ongoing part of the culture. In a
self-managed association, creating
a succession plan in the event of a
board member or staffing change
never makes it to the agenda.
SUCCESSION
PLANNING STEPS
So how can the self-managed association keep things from falling
apart when a long-term site manager
or fully-invested trustee must leave?
How can a community keep from
being paralyzed when a key person
decides to move on? The answer lies
in the comprehensiveness of the
knowledge that the board has about
the administration and operation
of the property and its understanding of the responsibilities of its key
people. The self-managed association board must establish obtaining
and memorializing this " historic
knowledge " as a major goal in their
strategic planning and ensure that
this objective is achieved before
there is a loss.
June 2021 CONDOMEDIA

Condo Media - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - June 2021