I’ve come to realize there are two three-letter words that bring most people out in hives — the “DMV” and the “HOA.”
When we purchased our brand-new home up beyond the hill that locals have called “Magic” since 1971, I told my wife, “As a brand-new American citizen, I may not be able to do much about the DMV, but I’m going to do my best to establish an outstanding HOA in this new community.”
I see so many parallels between serving on my HOA board and the workplace, mainly because in both cases, we’re simply dealing with people and all the joys and challenges that entails. In fact, the only difference I can think of is that we don’t get paid as board members — and I haven’t seen any baked goods at meetings yet.
Here are my top six similarities:
- Short-term vs long-term thinking: Just like in the workplace, leaders must consider what needs to be done this month and this year while also keeping an eye on the horizon. We need to be able to pay the bills today and ensure we have sufficient reserves for future repairs and replacements.
- Establishing a mission, vision and set of values: Peter Drucker, the renowned management thinker, once said, “The only things that evolve by themselves in an organization are disharmony, distrust, and discordance — great leaders create an intentional, high-achieving culture.” Likewise, any successful work team I’ve been part of — or consulted with — thrives on clarity of direction. As an HOA board, we need a clear mission (our “WHY”), defined goals (our vision for the year ahead), and shared values — the rules of engagement that guide how we work together.
- Be clear on our customer needs: I’ve come to the conclusion that there are three levels of customer service — satisfy needs, exceed expectations and anticipate needs. Great organizations focus on all three levels, and we must endeavor to do the same as an HOA board: satisfy, exceed and anticipate needs.
- Encourage a contribution rather than a consumer mindset: Have you noticed there seem to be two types of people at work? The first, the “consumer,” expects the organization to meet all their needs and complains when it doesn’t — often leaving if things aren’t fixed. The second, the “contributor,” shows up on time, offers constructive, solution-minded input, and focuses on the collective good. Consumers speak in “me, my, I”; contributors speak in “us, we, together.”
- See vendors as partners: Great organizations see their vendors as partners. Likewise, as an HOA board, we are evaluating all the vendors we inherited from the developer board — including the management company — to ensure each provides high-quality service at a fair cost. There’s a four-point framework for organizational effectiveness: investors, leadership, employees and vendors. In the HOA, our investors are our fellow owners, we are the leadership as the board, and our vendors are our partners. We just don’t have employees.
- Have a stewardship mindset: Just as we, as an HOA board, have a fiduciary duty to steward the dues, income, and reserves for 125 newly constructed homes on this ancient Californian ranch by the river, an organization’s leadership must recognize that without ensuring income exceeds expenses and assets exceed liabilities, they won’t be employed for much longer.
Who knew serving on an HOA board was just like any workplace? You quickly learn that budgets don’t create themselves, visions don’t explain themselves, and neighbors — like coworkers — never mute themselves. But when folks stop tripping over CC&Rs and start rallying around shared goals, good things happen. Whether it’s a cul-de-sac or a conference room, success comes down to collaboration, contribution, and enough patience to survive the phrase, “I wanted to share some research I did on ChatGPT …”
Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita Valley resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia (newleaftd.com). For questions or comments, email Butler at [email protected].
