Serving on the board of directors of a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) is just not easy – especially in these tough economic times. Directors sacrifice countless hours of their personal time to govern their communities and deal with tough issues. Sometimes their hard work is recognized by members of their HOAs and other times they are criticized for their decisions. 

If you have served on the board of an HOA, have advised boards, have observed the work that boards undertake or have interacted with board members, you can probably pinpoint the traits of a highly effective director. Over the next several days, this series of blog entries will focus on the traits that make a director successful in participating in the governance of their association.

 

Trait #1: It’s all about the HOA and not about their personal agenda. 

 

It’s not unusual for a member of an HOA to run for a position on the board of their association because they have an issue they feel strongly about and want to address. Sometimes these issues deal with the level of assessments, parking on residential streets or even the color choices for painting their home.  

   

A highly effective director understands that he/she has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the association as a whole and is able to put aside his or her personal interests or agenda on any given issue. A highly effective director is also able to put the interests of the association ahead of the interests of neighbors or friends.  

 

If you have traits of a highly effective director that you believe should be included in this blog series, please email me at: mfoley-healy@wlpplaw.com.