Dysfunctional Board of Director Meetings

Ever attend a Board Meeting and wonder how in the world did we get to this point. Insults, finger-pointing, and in some cases, even violence. Meetings can be productive if you let people express their concerns and not judge them. Most of the homeowners have valid questions and it's not an attack on a Board member or management company. It's informative, but unit owners need to be given a timeline to express their views and also be respectful. Respect is a two-way street. You must respect others in order to be respected.

How to have a productive a meeting?

1) Prepare a precise agenda and stick to the agenda items. It is not the moment to tell homeowners that got a new car or you went on vacation. Stick to the agenda items. Give unit owners 3 minutes each to ask questions about the specific agenda item and have the owner maintain focus on their question, in other words, don't let them start to wander off the topic and always ask if there are any more additional questions from other unit owners before moving on the next agenda item.

Limit questions to 3 minutes in order to give other homeowners the opportunity to ask thier questions and for the meeting not be an all-night meeting. Once a unit owner uses his/her time, that is it, they cant use someone else's 3 minutes. Remind them they have 3 minutes, which is plenty of time to ask questions as long as they stay focused.

2) No surprise items or approval of contracts if it's not listed on the current meeting agenda. This is where most managers and Board Members get in trouble.

3) The newest technology that is working for us is Zoom and/or a similar platform. Meetings are recorded by the program and sent out to unit owners upon written request. It refreshes their memory and keeps everybody honest.

4) Maintain accurate records of meetings.

5) Read out loud the minutes of the last meeting and approve, don't proceed if don't have written minutes of the prior meeting. This not the responsibility of the property manager, but of the Secretary of the Board of Directors.

6) Close out the meeting by thanking each person that attended, even you don't like them.

7) Always be professional, you are running a Corporation and in many case a multi-million Dollar Corporation.

Hopefully the above-mentioned helps in having productive meetings.