Julie Adamen: 0:00

You need to know where you're going. So the first thing I would say, and this is, I know you're going to go over an HOA. We don't need to do this. But if you want to focus on macro issues, get yourself out of the weeds. Hold productive meetings as well as have a productive Association over a long period of time. I really urge you to adopt a vision statement. That's where we want to be at. Mission Statement, this is how we're going to get there. Then everything you decide actually revolves around those two statements.

Announcer: 0:33

HOA Insights is brought to you by six companies that care about board members, Association Insights & marketplace, Association Reserves, Community Financials, Kevin Davis Insurance Services, HOA Invest and The Inspectors of Election, you'll find links to their website and social media in the show notes,

Julie Adamen: 0:49

Hi. I'm Robert Nordlund of association reserves, and I'm Julie Adam, and with Adam and Inc, and this is HOA Insights, where we promote Common Sense for

Robert Nordlund: 0:57

Common Areas. Welcome to Episode 127 where we're again speaking with management consultant and regular co host, Julie Zdamen. Today we'll be continuing our conversation from Episode 123, on the top traits of great boards. We honestly had too much to say on that topic for just one episode. We kind of anticipated it was going to be that way. So today's episode is a continuation of that conversation. Today, Julie is going to take the lead and have some inspiring tips and ideas and kind of benchmarks that are going to allow you to approach or join the category of great boards that lead great associations. Well, last week's episode 126 featured a great conversation with another one of our board heroes, Michelle Mansour, talking about the challenges, tips and the strategies of leading her association in South Carolina. So be sure to catch episode 126, but if you missed that episode or any other prior episode, take a moment after today's program to listen from our podcast website, Hoa insights.org or watch our YouTube channel, and, better yet, subscribe from any of the major podcast platforms so you don't miss any future episodes. Those of you watching on YouTube can see the HOA insights mug that I have, and I think jerma is also very nice merch, yep, that we got from the merch store, which you can browse through from, again, Hoa insights.org, the website, or the link in the show notes, you'll find we have some great free stuff there, like board member zoom backgrounds and some specialty items for sale, like mugs. So go to the merch store, download a free zoom background. While you're there, take a moment look around, find the mug you'd like and email me at podcast, at reserve study.com with your name, shipping address and mug choice, mentioning episode 127, mug giveaway, and if you're the 10th person to email me, I'll ship you that mug free of charge, we enjoy hearing from you responding to the issues you're facing at your association. We want this show to be for you, about you, and helpful to you. So if you have a hot topic, a crazy story, or a question you'd like us to address, you can always contact us at 805-203-3130, or email us at podcast at reserve study.com but today's episode is on us. As I said earlier, we want to continue that conversation from Episode 123 about the top traits from great boards. So Julie, I rewatched that episode, and as a summary, my notes say that we spoke about the importance of regular, courteous and professional communication. So many things turn pivot on communication. Speaking with one voice, meaning no public discussion, no division, no stirring up trouble, because, because it's not just a task, but because when you speak with one voice, you build integrity and credibility, which builds political capital so you can get things done. Number three, come prepared to board meetings. Be prepared to truly make decisions. Decisions. Make decisions Yeah, because it's not just oh yeah, oh yeah. You want to be making productive, having productive board meetings, because that again, leads to credibility. Community Interest. Has anyone in attendance? Think, Oh, these people got it together. Yeah, the association is good hands. They feel better about what they're seeing. Part of that is number four, stay on the agenda. Part number five, know your financials. Yes, you have a treasurer. Yes, you have a manager, but you need to know in your heart, are we in trouble? Are our numbers going up? Is that good? Are our numbers going down? Do we have problems? Do we need to be cautious? Do we need to be careful on any expenditures? Rely on advice from experts. I mean. This lovingly, but to our board member audience, your average homeowners, likely, you're not all stars in particular fields, and so you need experts to help you navigate the way forward. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Don't always choose the lowest cost provider. Use quality service providers and pay for the experts to give you wise counsel, keeping you on the straight and narrow. So that's that all saves you 25 minutes, half hour. But there's a lot more to it, but we wanted to build on that. So what more can we say about great boards? What do they look like?

Julie Adamen: 5:40

We can say so much about great boards, because when they I mean, I've worked and so if you Robert, literally, with 1000s of boards over our careers, and boy, when you're working with a good one, it is just like a symphony playing. You're working with a bad one. It's like you're stuck in the mud, just like a tractor in the mud. That's what you're at. Oh, so there's so much to talk about, about good boards, and there are so many of them out there, but for those of you who are struggling, maybe you think we're a good board, but we could be better. I think a lot of this episode will be really good for you. So we have some particular topics we're going to talk about today. The first one I want to go with is a subject that's near and dear to my heart, which is focus as a as a board, you need to focus on macro issues, not on minutia. As board members, your job is to set strategy and set policy and then let everything else play out. If you have a management company or an on site manager, or even if you're self managed the board itself, I mean, they may do some of the other stuff that happens, but you need to know where you're going. So the first thing I would say, and this is, I know you're going to go, Oh, they're in HOA. We don't need to do this. But if you want to focus on macro issues and get yourself out of the weeds, hold productive meetings as well as have a productive Association over a long period of time, I really urge you to adopt a vision statement. That's where we want to be at. Mission Statement, this is how we're going to get there. Then everything you decide actually revolves around those two statements. If it kind of keeps you from getting off track, maybe someone wants you to do something that really isn't part of what your association should be doing. It? Does it fit in with the mission? Does it get us towards the vision? If the answer is no, then that's a subject you don't need to waste your time on. So that's the first thing, the big thing to do in focusing on the macro issues.

Robert Nordlund: 7:37

What does that look like? Because I remember in the early days of association reserves, we hired a consultant, and the consultant said the same thing to us, you need a vision and a mission statement to let you know where we're going. And we said, why do we need that? We're reserves day company. We prepare reserve stays. How much more complicated is it than that that walked us through the exercise, and we are a seasonal business. We do a lot of reserves days in the summer and fall for our December 31 clients. And then we have a slower season because there's not as many associations with the January, February, March, April, May, you know, all those other year, fiscal year ends, yeah. And at one point in time, one of my staff said, Well, why don't we? We have ladders, we have people that go out to the field. We have people that make appointments. Why don't we string Christmas lights and make some money that way? In December, a slow month, and I remember smiling because finally I had a reason to say no, because we have a mission statement that we are providing financial clarity for associations. And it was, it was amazing to say, No, we provide financial clarity for associations. We don't just do scatterbrain things because we have ladders. Exactly. What does that look like for an association? What does that keep them on track or help them keep it absolutely

Julie Adamen: 8:57

keeps them on track. It absolutely keeps them on track. Because, just like you said, if someone brings something up, I mean, let's talk about this. To say they want their association to get involved in some local politics. And I don't mean necessarily just writing a letter or something. I'm talking about, they want everybody to get involved. We're going to send emails out. Is that candidate forum in the club have a candidate for them in the clubhouse? I mean, is that a part of our mission? Is it? I mean, and if it's not, I'm not saying it couldn't be, but if your association doesn't have that as a part of their mission, you need to stay focused on the mission at hand. What happens when you get off track? You know, much like stringing up Christmas lights, is that you lose focus on what you're supposed to be doing to make the rest of the business, and you're all managing a nonprofit business, the rest of the business function better. And also remember, Robert's business is for profit. You guys are nonprofit, so board members, sadly, don't get paid for what they do, and you don't need to spend more time doing things that are taking you off. What is your charter? What is your mission? Education and what is a part of your fiduciary duty as well, and associations that hold their mission vision, if they've got goals and objectives, and boy, if you're lucky, you have a business plan that goes over a one to three year period. Yes, up front, it's work, yes, but you would find out over a period of time, you would get so much more done on behalf of the community, with that laser like focus on these particular issues, the goals and objectives fit with the mission and vision, then the business plan fits with the goals and objectives, but it also fits with the vision and the mission. So we're not, you know, willy nilly going off saying, Gosh, maybe we need to, you know, you know, whatever do a political statement or or just anything that can be.

Robert Nordlund: 10:44

So if you say we are happy valley villas, and we are here to promote a peaceful way of life for our residents, really simple. If that's what Happy Valley villas is, then, no, you're probably not opening your clubhouse to political forums. You're probably not having the local elementary school have their end of school year party at pool, exactly. All of a sudden it gives you, gives you bumpers

Julie Adamen: 11:12

in a bowling alley. It puts up the bumpers. That's exactly correct, because, as all of you know who serve on boards, just like in meetings, things can go sideways really quickly, because a lot of people don't even know what they're on the board for homeowners not necessarily, do not necessarily know what you're supposed to be doing as a board member. These give you the bumpers. That's right, interesting.

Robert Nordlund: 11:32

You know, I had dinner last night with a friend, and he knows my business, and he was telling me he's owned his condo for 30 I think he said 35 years. I was like, wow, that's a long time. And he said, and it's probably getting about time for us to, you know, he's little older than me. He wants to move closer to grandkids. And he says it's probably about time, because next year they're going to replace all the iron work, and the year after that, they're going to redo the roads in the association. And our homeowner assessments are currently 825 they're going up to 875 next year, and 950 the year after. And I was thinking, as an owner, you know those things. And I was thinking, good for the board to have communicated. I'm getting goosebumps to have communicated to the 250 or so homeowners. They know the plan, like you said, they've got a plan. And people know that that lousy iron work is going to get taken care of, the bumpy asphalt is going to get taken care of, and they know that the homeowner assessments are going to have to go up to make all this happen. I was so pleased with their association had the multi year. Like you said,

Julie Adamen: 12:45

I'm impressed with that. I'm very impressed with that. Most associations don't do that. A lot of them don't have the guts to publish that kind of thing, because it can be, obviously, you know, there can be such political blowback, but, you know, it's really interesting. The assessments aren't going up that much, so I was they must have some reserves, so it's not

Robert Nordlund: 13:01

going to that much. That's pretty good. Yeah, to have those two projects that they're doing almost immediately, this year or next year or next year and the year after. Yeah, the money's in the bank. So they've been doing the right things.

Julie Adamen: 13:12

Yeah, absolutely. And what let me go back to this is a part about board credibility, right? So whatever their board is, their board must have some credibility with the owners, because they are able to say, have that they have that plan. And they've told everybody that, obviously, not just right now. They probably told it to them a few years ago, and as things were progressing, they kept them informed. That gets aboard tremendous credibility in the eyes of the owner owners. And so when these big things do come up, they have a tendency to think, Hey, we're in good hands. The board is in tune with what needs to be done, and it's going to serve us all. I mean, it's just like any government entity, it's always so shocking to find a government entity that's doing what the people actually need, but that board is doing it. It's impressive.

Robert Nordlund: 13:57

My feeling there at dinner last night was you're in good hands in that condominium association, they are taking care of the common areas. They're taking care of you. And I just about said, how are your property values? Because my expectation was the property values are nice and high, and they're tempting him to think I can very happily sell and move to be closer to my grandkids. I bet property values are high. Okay, back

Julie Adamen: 14:23

to another thing. A great board. Okay, how about let's talk about holding productive board meetings. I am currently doing some consulting with an association that last year was fired from by their management company because they were meeting two, sometimes three times a month. Now it's only 200 plus units, not that big, but two three times a month, and each board meeting was about six hours long, yikes. And they required not only the on site person be there, but they wanted the management company executive there. So the amount of time that the management company was spending there, it just wasn't worth it to them. It was very frustrating. And in fact, most recently, somebody ended up, someone who worked at the management company ended up quitting over that because they just couldn't take the stress anymore. So when a board does not hold productive meetings, I mean, that dovetails what we said right previously, is it, go to a board meeting, be prepared to make decisions, right? We like to say that boards should be able to make a decision within five minutes of the motion being made. If you can't make it in that amount of time, you're not ready to make the decision table, it move on to the next item. You probably don't have enough information, or you haven't gathered the political capital or whatever you needed to get that

Robert Nordlund: 15:38

motion passed. Right? Yeah, let's say that again, because that was a fantastic measure.

Julie Adamen: 15:42

Once a Motion is made, if a board is not ready to make a decision on that motion within about five minutes, you're probably not ready to make that decision. Now, I know that sounds really short to a lot of you folks, but that tells me you're probably have longer board meetings than you need to all the information that you need to make big decisions should be within the board packet, or the information that is given to the board ahead of time, whether you're doing it in house, or whether you have a management company doing it, or an on site manager doing it for you, all that information should be there, right there, so you can make that decision. And since you read your materials beforehand, you've made inquiry about other questions that you may have had to the board president, to the manager, or to the appropriate committee head. You've previously made those inquiries. Well, can you tell me about why we went with why you're looking at this contractor? And then you'll get the information you need. All those little questions. You start asking that in a board meeting, and, boom, you're right off the rails. You're right off the rails. And and how many of you out there got, got talked into being on the board because someone told you, ah, it's only two hours a month, and that's the meeting most the time. That's not true. Hopefully you have two hour or less board meetings, unless you are a very, very large scale place, very large agendas closer you say to your agenda and your meetings are not a time for socializing. They're not a time for comparing golf scores or telling people what you did back in the day or anything like that. Once the meeting starts, start with, do the meeting now? Why do business? It's business, and why do we want to hold productive meetings? Where do the homeowners see a board in action? That's good point at the board being at the board meeting. If you have not there, they hear about it. They hear about it. Yes, and some, some places do record their board meetings, and then they have them up online for you to look at. But if your board meetings are contentious, angry, people are rude. They don't have a focus, and they go on for way longer than they should, maybe entertaining the philosophical debate of two different board members, and no one says a point of order. Let's get back on the agenda. No one wants to sign up for that unpleasant task. So if you don't want to be on the board forever. Think about how your board meetings present to the membership. Do we look like we have our act together? Do we have our act together? Are we efficient? Do we run our meetings? Well? Do we make decisions? Well, that is everything, you know. People think, oh, you know, they who I like that. I maybe I've been on the board because people like to be a part of something positive, and that is positive,

Robert Nordlund: 18:25

yeah, what you're saying here is that there's often reasons behind the reasons. Because we could say, have your board meeting run on time, you have a hour and 15 minute agenda. Success is anywhere from hour to hour 20 you call that good. And it's not just because you can get back and watch Netflix at your home, because anyone there says, oh, that's order. Oh, the association is good hands. I may come to the meeting saying, didn't I learn last me as a board member, I may come to the meeting saying, I'm probably why are we adding dog poop weigh stations this month. Aren't we running low on cash? And I'd be inclined to vote no. And then the motion comes up and I say, Well, you know, I'm inclined to vote. Why are we doing this? Aren't we out of cash? And the treasurer says, Oh, it's okay, because we just paid the insurance bill. And so that's why we're low. But we don't have another bill for eight months or something like that, and so we're totally fine. Yeah, I'm like, Oh, okay. Now you say it that way. I vote yes. You know it, it doesn't. It doesn't. Shouldn't take a lot of time. No, know the, know the facts and and be prepared

Julie Adamen: 19:37

that a lot of people think, well, you know who is ever chairing the meeting? Typically, the president, they're in charge of it. They're the ones who keep us moving along. Well, sometimes we have a president that doesn't do that, and sometimes they're just not, you know, they're not really fit for that type of leadership role. But there they are, the president, all the rest of you board members can certainly bring your, bring yourselves back onto the agenda by again, point of order. Or let's get back on the agenda, and then, oh, okay, so everybody has a role to play in this. It kind of takes a village people. No, not village people, but it kind of takes a village everybody to make board meetings work.

Robert Nordlund: 20:13

I like that. Everybody has a role. And that's the president, that's the board, that's the audience, and the audience can say, thank you now I understand and just be supportive like we started out last time. We've got a long list of things. So we do, we are, we are gradually working our way through. But this is great stuff, but before I tackle another one, it is time to take a quick break, after which we'll be back, but we want to hear from one of our generous sponsors, and then we'll be back with more top tips. Top tips of great boards, traits. Top traits, yep. Traits, we will, we will give tips about top traits. That's okay.

Russell Munz: 20:51

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Robert Nordlund: 21:22

and we're back, Julie during the break. We talked about in our long list, what do we want to address first? But you had one that was your special, special bullet point, and you can start out

Julie Adamen: 21:37

this is, Well, I'll tell you what. This is something that I know really, really good boards do this, and other boards just really don't think about it so much, especially because the boards themselves don't often get thanked. But raise your volunteers. Thank your volunteers at every turn, whether it's in a board meeting, I'd like to thank the architectural committee, chaired by Bob and for what a great job they did in dealing with whatever this particular issue is, or rewriting the guidelines was a wonderful thing. I had a board president really, really great guy back in the day when I was managing and he had a saying for that. He called it spin the halo. Always be spinning that Halo. And I thought it was such a goofy sounding thing, but he's absolutely right. So that makes this a very positive experience. So when you want volunteers to serve on committees or become board members, but usually people start up that committee pipeline first, or you want to have that pipeline, you have to treat them well, even over and above what you may think you know, but this is a little over the top. If you say thank you all the time, it's really not because they could have been a captain of industry, a senior vice president with muckety muck company, or that kind of thing. But, you know what, when they're out on the pickleball court, they really like their neighbors to know what a great job they did, you know, ironing out the new landscape contract, and, you know, getting the best price for the money and great, responsive, new landscapers. That's what they like, and there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly, all of us in our lives don't get thanked enough for everything anyway, life is very you know, you know how people are these days. To be thanked is so unusual. So think about that. People want to be a part of something positive. They don't want to be you know? They don't want to feel like a dog that got hit with a rolled up newspaper. They want to be thanked. And when you're bringing those people into your process, people a part of the process, who come into the process, have a tendency to stay in that positive process and not become a part of the 10% angry mob that's at your community, or the 3% really angry mob. So bring them in, treat them well. They'll tell other people, and you'll have a bigger pipeline than you can even deal with sometimes

Robert Nordlund: 23:49

you got my brain spinning on this one, there is a stereotype of the evil board member, and the more you can do to say thank you and like you say, if you what did I talk about earlier? The dog weigh stations, whatever it is, where someone had a comedian, they talked about, how many we should buy? I don't know. I don't walk my dog. How many should we buy here? And what brand do we need to stock them with a package of 50? Do we need to stock them with a package of 500 you know, I don't know. So you can have a committee, and you can say thank you to the committee for helping us do that, and all of a sudden you're breaking the stereotype. And I like breaking the stereotype, because people go to that board meeting say, Well,

Julie Adamen: 24:38

I've heard the stereotype, but are that stereotype? Yeah, they like that stereotype. It's, it's a community that I'm working with right now. It is the complete stereotype. And it's, I just look at the people on it, and they're a couple of them are very broken people. I mean, they're, they're not stupid by any means, but very broken. And saying, I can't even think of the word sent Thank you coming out of their. Mouths, frankly, and it just is a very toxic environment. But you can choose to make your community positive. You don't want that Karen moniker that everybody ends up with, you know, out there measuring the lawn. Oh, which reminds me, we'll go to the next one after this. But so first of all, thank your volunteers and the next one Robert, that ties in with that. We had one here that was, know when to bend associations. Should follow a certain pattern, and you want to make sure the rules are enforced. You know, you have all these things you need to do as a fiduciary, as a trustee, because you're these are you're in charge of money and property on behalf of others, right? But sometimes boards may have inherited rules or a policy, or maybe they devised them a few years ago, and now those don't really fit so much anymore. Let's just take one big one that happened after covid. Almost everybody can now hold their meetings via zoom or teams or something like that, right? Just like what we're doing here. But the association says, Nope, we have to have them in person, and that means people who maybe live out of the community can no longer attend the meetings or even serve as a board member, because typically, if you can get in on a Zoom meeting, you can serve as a board member. It's pretty good. So if the associations didn't bend to that, and luckily, a lot of states said to change their laws, and that happened. But I'm just using that as an example. So I think you had a really good example, Robert, maybe I read it in here was if it has been pouring down rain and it's the in the trash cans are still out, but it's been pouring rain for 24 hours, maybe it's okay not to go out and cite people that day and wait till the next day. I just that puts you in tune with what your people need. It's like saying you have to shovel your driveway because the snow is this thick. Well, if Mrs. Smith's son, her adult son, who happens to live with her, is out of town for two days, that driveway may not get done. So it's just a matter of being aware and in tune with what your owners need.

Robert Nordlund: 26:53

Yeah, there's an element of that, that both these points be a good human and know your people, and it reminded me of a phone call I made a long time ago. We had a good couple friends that they lived in an association where I knew about it because I'd done the reserve say for it. I knew the property, and her husband died suddenly from a heart attack, and it was devastating, and it was just awful. I remember my wife and I on the way home, saying, What can we do? And I said, I call the management company. And so I knew the management company I called, and I said, I'm a friend of the people who live in XYZ unit number 13, the husband just died of a heart attack. Can you put an asterisk on their account and give them a little bit of grace, because I bet she's going to be late on her monthly assessments the next month or two. Can you put my name on the account, but give her some grace. She just lost her husband. You know, things like that. Be a good human know when to bend there is often a good reason. The Sonia law, who's out of town, can't help the nice old lady shovel their driveway, just that kind of stuff. Yeah. Which is back to fighting the stereotype.

Julie Adamen: 28:13

It is fighting the stereotype and and there's a there's a stereotype in Hoa, for a reason. We've all seen the videos, the Tiktok videos, or the x videos. I just saw one last week, Robert, it's guy, and it was really bizarre, because, you know, it's at night, those ring cameras and stuff, they kind of have this eerie sort of black and white thing. And this guy, he puts his face right up next to it. I mean, close. And it's very bizarre. He's like, Well, I'm on the board. It's 1130 at night, and you better be, I'm gonna be enforcing the rules, not you. It was unbelievable, and it went everywhere in our industry, people shared it and all that stuff. So there is a stereotype, mostly because people get on boards for a lot of different reasons. Unfortunately, one of them is a power trip. People do like that. So anywhere you can not reinforce the stereotype. And I like, I like what you said, Robert, be human. I think that's that should be like at the top of every agenda. I think you know, but really it's just treating people with kindness. Still doesn't mean you're not doing your job as a board member, but treating people with kindness maybe giving a little grace when you need it. I have a whole program for boards that's, that's grace under pressure about how to how to deal with that kind of thing. So I just think it's a it's a good thing to do, fight the stereotype. Don't be one.

Robert Nordlund: 29:30

I'm thinking also that the be the good human, the kindness. All this wraps around. We talked about being a good fiduciary. I think we talked about acting like a good fiduciary last time, and that's a focus on the board member. But the other part of it is the homeowners have with open hands, said, I just bought a home here. I'm entrusting you to take good care of it, and you want to honor that trust that they've put in you, that. It is not only your job, but it's an act of kindness to take good care of that. If I had a friend who said, we're going out of town, it's a long ways to the airport from my house, can I drive to your house and go to Uber from your house? You live in a nice neighborhood? Can I leave my car in the driveway? And we said, Fine, and by golly, I watched that car closely for the week that it was out in front of my house, because it's not my car, but they had entrusted it into my care, into my neighborhood. And you can choose to be that. You can choose to be the good neighbor. You can choose to be the good human and act with kindness. And that's what we're asking from a good

Julie Adamen: 30:38

board it. And you know what boards you don't necessarily have to do that all alone. You could actually have a volunteer committee. I mean, what the committees are volunteers, but a committee that is ready to, you know, maybe take on some of these little challenges and volunteer in the community that I live in, in Arizona. I mean, it's a huge community, but it has a big, big I think it started as a committee, but it's basic. Now. They have their own building. All they do is take care of the most elderly residents. They drive that they and they all. They live here. They volunteer here. They drive them to dental appointments. They'll take them to get their hair done because they can't drive anymore. And they will just, they'll bring them a meal, whatever it kind of needs. They fill that in. And, God, it gives me tears to think about it, because it's it's something you don't have to do, but it's something you can do. And I'm not saying get bogged down at it and don't go against your charter, but it or your your vision and mission statement. But if your vision statement is to be the most pleasant place to live in, Happy Valley wherever. You know, maybe that fits right in there with it, or the lady who needs her her driveway shuttled, you know, maybe somebody's got the snowblower they can just come and do it real quick, meaning some a neighbor. So it's just a way to fill in some of this gap and humanize the board and humanize the Association. We're not just a monolith. We're not the stereotype of do it our way, or else, or take that flagpole down, or all that stuff.

Robert Nordlund: 32:07

Fight the stereotype. Humanize the board. I still remember a long time ago, I did a site inspection for a high rise and met the board member. He let me in. We chatted in his unit, and let's say it was on the 10th floor, and we met in his unit, debriefed on things, and we started walking through the different floors. And in front of one unit, he picked up the newspaper in front of that door. And I said, Do you like pick up the litter? And he says, no. She's a flight attendant, and she's asked if I can just when she's out of town, I can just pick up the newspaper if it's still there in the middle of the day, I was like, I want to live here? Yeah, I want to live at this kind of place where people act like this.

Julie Adamen: 32:53

And you know what I think of, what people need to realize, even in this situation, being in a volunteer board member in an HOA with all the bad stereotypes, it all starts at the top. If the board president is the kind of person who will just walk by, oh, yeah, I can take care of that. You will find that that type of personality attracts like personalities, which makes the whole board run better. It gives them that feeling that that humanizes them and that makes their servant leadership that's exactly, ooh, Robert, there's our next topic. Servant Leader. I'm writing. I'm writing. I get to, but it's, it's because, it's how can I help. It's how can I help. That's really what you do. I mean, Robert, you've served on boards. I have two and, and I serve on a different Swim Club board right now. And it's really mostly, you're just trying to put people together, and how can I help and make this work better? And I don't have to do that. Which reminds me, I do where I live. We have, we have two newspapers they put out in house. They put them out about every six weeks or so. And this time of year, there's very few people living in this area. I mean, most, I'd say 80% of the people are gone, and I walk by my neighbor's house. It's really weird. They just keep putting them out there. But I walk by the neighbors and I put them up, put them in the recycle, because you can tell they're not home.

Robert Nordlund: 34:09

Yeah, I don't want people knowing my neighbors are not home. That's just unkind.

Julie Adamen: 34:14

It's especially when I'm the only one on the cul de sac right now. Yeah, me and the dog

Robert Nordlund: 34:19

right fight the stereotype, act like a good human, be kind. And I see so many things through the lens of being a fiduciary, that it's not just the job of being the fiduciary, but they've entrusted it to you. So be kind with that kind of stuff. So many good things here, and we have more on the list, but we'll get to that another episode. So Julie, I figured we're not done. Yeah, we're out of time for today. Okay, but, you know, as always, it's we have great aspirations for how much we can plow through, but there's so much actually to enjoy on this topic. So any closing thoughts to add at this time?

Julie Adamen: 34:57

You know, no, I just think I want to reiterate the thing about. Be a human and I don't mean that in a flippant way. I mean I think in the last eight to 10 years, especially after covid, we've you can tell people have lost their marbles in a lot of ways. They almost have lost their humanity. They have no empathy for other people whatsoever. And I'm not a big woo woo person myself. I'm pretty cut and dried, especially for a female, especially, see in our industry, right? Because it's we're having such a hard time getting new board members. We're having a hard time keeping new board members. Whereas in years past, people would stay on the board for two or three terms or till they turned out, and now people will quit midterm just because it's so ugly. So I know we can't fix everybody in our communities, but we can present an image that will definitely make our lives better, but maybe the association itself will start to reflect how we are presenting ourselves human kind, still doing what's best for the community overall, being communicative, transparent. We didn't talk about the transparent, transparent and accessible. We'll get there. Yeah, and think about the people around you. Yeah. No, I got, I got, get the, get the shepherd stoke out.

Robert Nordlund: 36:11

You said it with covid 19, but that made me think, be infectious for the right reasons. Have that roll forward. Because if you can smile, if you can know when to bend, if you can praise your volunteers, just a little simple actually, you start to think, I like this place. I like this and you begin to like the association. You begin to feel like you're in good hands. And we want to do everything we can to see more and more and more of that across the country. Well, we hope you'll learn some HOA insights from our discussion today that helps you bring common sense to your common areas, or give you some ideas that make you think, Ah, I could do that at my association. So thank you for joining us today. We look forward to bringing many more episodes to you, week after week after week. We'll be here. It'll be great to have you join us on a regular basis. Spread the word

Announcer: 37:06

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