The Association Executive Committee of the National Association of Realtors is planning an upcoming magazine issue themed on building a bond of trust between the staff and the members. I’m looking forward to that issue, as it’s a dynamic which greatly interests me in the association management profession. In my experience, I’ve seen association execs come and abruptly go, and I’ve heard a number of stories which are shocking—from both sides of the aisle.
Trust is a difficult component of the equation which leads to successful association management: it’s hard work to build, and devilishly difficult to maintain. Even if you are the most scrupulously honest association exec in the world, the members need to be convinced of that fact and that requires proactive image maintenance (to put it nicely).
No matter what the cause of member distrust of the AE, and no matter whether or not the skepticism is deserved, the fact is that credibility is missing. And when it is, so is the effectiveness of the AE.
In my experience, the lack of trust in the AE and/or staff will manifest itself in one of two ways: accusations of financial mismanagement or questionable voting practices. In either case, the members will ‘win’ this discussion, so the AE needs to practice preventative medicine—not in ounces, but it pounds.
Fortunately, prevention is not too difficult. Here are some suggestions for good practices in building trust:
In finances,
1. Always encourage transparency. Members should be able to see budgets and financial reports
whenever they want. (I’ve written a previous blog on how to present this information so that it’s meaningful to members and they don’t waste energy worrying about the ply of the toilet paper).
2. Make sure you have internal controls in your operations, and advertise that you have them. Let everyone know that you are scrupulous about maintaining good practices. Get advice from your CPA, or SCORE, or your association legal counsel--or all three.
3. Establish and follow a sound and thorough financial policy manual. Educate the directors and staff about the contents of the manual, and don’t accept friendly amendments to it.
4. Things like expense reports and credit cards for members and staff should be carefully controlled. Be uniformly nasty about usage, reporting, and approval, if you have to be.
5. When coming into a job where financial abuse has taken place previously, conduct a complete organization inventory--every bank account, every stick of furniture, every napkin in the kitchen. Ask the directors to sign an acknowledgment, and then move on, again with transparency, integrity, and complete paper trails.
In the case of voting, either for candidates or on issues,
1. Follow every date, mandate, and every bylaw scrupulously. Conduct a training session with your staff so that they understand the procedures, Make it clear that you will not tolerate any deviation from these rules, or heads will roll.
2. Have the vote count verified by a third party. Your CPA firm, or an affiliate
member committee are good options.
3. Follow the same procedure as your local government elections, if you can. Sign
for absentee ballots, use numbered ballots, and set up online voting with a system
that crosschecks member records.
These procedures are just as important in small associations as in larger ones, and it's ok to be adamantly against any suggestions for departure from them, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Always insist on a formal process of changing the rules, one that is public and transparent.
“I have an individual member who is so negative, condescending and questioning EVERYTHING! He does not follow procedure, and has put the Association in compromising situations with local political figures…Now he has asked to see all the financials to the Association. What advice do you have to help an AE who would like to SCREAM….”go sell real estate and get off it!””
Well, THAT question brought back memories! One of the longest years of my professional career came from dealing with “Tom”. I’d forgotten about Tom until this question arrived in my email inbox—and then it all came back.
Tom was a member of our association. He didn’t really sell real estate—he was one of those young men who had a working wife and not much going for him in the way a personality: his real estate sales were negligible. In fact, he spent much more time as a self-proclaimed geek, with delusions of Bill Gates dancing in his head. He earned some money producing statistical analyses for brokers, based on MLS data. At least he did, until our MLS upgraded its computer system and there were more statistic reports available than the brokers quite knew what to do with.
End of Tom’s fledgling career—and he was very angry. “The Board (and the AE, of course) had made a huge mistake with the computer system: the reports were faulty, the statistics unacceptable, etc, etc.” From then on Tom spent all his excess energy questioning the staff, the directors, the MLS committee—everyone in sight. He became obsessed with finding fault and sent out blast faxes to the membership and even went to city hall to take out a permit to hold a protest on the busy street in front of the association office. The madness went on for a year or more: phone calls at home, legal threats, scathing emails and letters to the local newspaper. It was a nightmare for everyone.
I learned some things as I was living this scenario—not easy lessons, because this is not an easy problem. And the first thing I learned is not to place much faith in the Pollyanna Prescriptions: you know the ones that say “Address the problem head on, try and understand the motivation for the behavior, and act with sympathy and acknowledgement. “ Uh-uh. This advice is usually offered by behavior specialists and optimists. The fact is, you are too busy being a leader or manager with lots of people claiming your time and you aren’t a trained psychologist. You have neither resources nor training for this approach.
Secondly, understand that compulsively distructive persons are truly dysfunctional. There is most likely an emotional disconnect which interferes with their perception of reality: they don’t care if they are respected or their actions valued. They are focused on disruption. Sounds melodramatic, but we all know people like this and it stands to reason that some of them will be members of our associations.
Thirdly, know that folks like Tom can win at the games they play. We’ve heard the horror stories: the AE who finds her desk cleared out after she returns from vacation, the association president who resigns midway through his term because he hasn’t the energy and resources to continue the job, the leadership team that becomes increasingly lethargic and gloomy because all it ever hears is criticism, the members who lose faith in the benefits of the association and discontinue their support.
What to do? Here are some thoughts:
1. Practice the “red ant” theory of association management. Former CEO of the American Society of Association Executives, Jim Low explained this theory at the ceremony in which he presented me with my CAE designation. “Too often we dignify the loudest and most negative member with a position on the committee in order to show him ‘how everything works’. This is disrespectful to your other members. You should do with this guy what you do with red ants: STOMP him!”
2. Keep your association attorney up to speed on the problems. Chances are the disgruntled member will threaten court action—doesn’t everyone these days? Get some advice on proactive precautions such as having a witness whenever you talk to the offending member and always acting in accordance with the bylaws and written policies.
3. Train your staff and your leadership team in their responsibilities. Again, part of this training should be legal: knowing what to say, how to respond, and what information to release is all a part of the precautionary strategy.
4. Keep a meticulous record of every interaction with the disruptive person. I asked my staff to assist me with a log of all of Tom’s contact with us—phone calls, emails and so on—and the amount of time they spent on any request he made. Eventually I begin to assign dollar figures to this log: what was the monetary value of the staff time he demanded? What kind of legal fees were incurred because of his threats? The directors and some of the other leaders began to contribute to this effort as well and the results were astonishing. It became clear to everyone the extent of his demands on association resources.
5. Never appear adversarial. When Tom applied for a permit to picket in front of the association office, I panicked, envisioning a front page photo in the daily newspaper. “Don’t worry,” our attorney advised. “Make a big pitcher of lemonade and take it out to him when the photographers are there.”
6. Take advantage of the situation to develop a code of conduct as a part of your association operational policies. The AMA did just that in 2008 with a model medical staff code of conduct. It in, the descriptions of appropriate, inappropriate, and disruptive behavior are defined, as well as remedies which may be taken should this code be breached. While you may not feel a need to go to the extent the AMA did, certainly drawing up guidelines for those who wish to object, question or protest is a useful approach to take, and will assist when similar issues arise in the future.
There’s no quick fix to the problem of a disruptive member. Tom finally got discouraged and, following the advice of his attorney, dropped his efforts and did not renew his membership. Thinking back, what is important for me to remember is that his presence caused greater accountability awareness on my part and on the part of the leadership, and that we learned how unfair and enervating his disproportionate demands were to the rest of the membership.
Recently I received an email from an AE who asked, “Is there ever a time when the Board of Directors should be involved in reviewing the performance of my association staff?”
Well, I have a hard time with inclusive words like ’ever’ and ‘never’, but my response to this AE was, “I can’t think of a reason why the directors should be evaluating any staff but you as CEO.” Actually, I can think of some reasons why the directors might do something like that: they are afraid of the larger issues facing the industry, they don’t understand the role of a director, they don’t have any confidence in the CEO, or they’re just plain nosy.
The fact of the matter is (and this can be uncomfortable for the CEO) that the directors hire only one person: the CEO. Then they ask their employee to manage their work product which is based on the goals and objectives that the directors have defined and articulated. Finally, they spend most of their time and resources evaluating the progress toward those goals and in developing and specifying new ones. That’s it. Simple.
The CEO, on the other hand, takes those goals and turns them into measurable strategies which are put into effect. She reports back to the directors and they evaluate her success or lack thereof. The CEO works within the allocated resources to achieve the success and if those resources (read ‘personnel’) don’t measure up, that’s the CEO’s problem to resolve.
It’s not up to the Board of Directors to second guess the CEO’s implementation program. It is up to them to evaluate whether the work program is successful and the organizational goals are being met. If the organization is falling short of its goals, only ONE person can be held accountable—the CEO.
Of course this approach presupposes a lot of accountability on the part of the board and the CEO. The board needs to understand its role as strategy and policy makers, commit to facing the hard issues confronting the industry, and act unflinchingly in the best interest of the association. And the CEO must understand her role in demanding clear policy from the leaders, translating those directions into measurable results, and accepting her accountability.
Here are some action steps:
1. Concentrate on the mission. Put it at the top of every printed agenda, banner it on the web page, paste on the stalls in the association restroom, and print it on the stationary and business cards.
2. Insist that every check the organization writes contain a memo that allocates the expenditure to a specific reference point in the strategic plan.
3. Annually train directors in their responsibilities. They forget from year to year.
4. Schedule a strategic thinking period on every directors meeting. Use the time to review a part of the strategic plan, evaluate the effectiveness of a component of the plan, or hear from your strategic initiatives task force.
5. Use a strategic screening tool to review every program or initiative considered by the board of directors. Keep the ‘strategic decision-making component’ at the forefront of every motion.
6. Have an extensive plan for stomping out micromanagement on all levels. Minutia immobility raises its ugly head in all kinds of situations. Practice saying the following phrases:
“We aren’t going to spend any time on a budget item that represents less than 2% of the total expense budget.”
“Staff will be happy to take care of that detail.”
“Let’s ask our attorney for an expert opinion (or CPA, or technical consultant, or staff specialist).”
“I’ve made a staff recommendation in the material that was sent out with your agenda.”
“Perhaps you’d like to have staff research this matter and present a full discussion and recommendations for action.”
“Since the expense is already covered in the budget you’ve approved, we don’t need to discuss the color of the new doorknob. We’ll go ahead and make the purchase.”
"Thank you for your input. I will consider your feelings when I conduct my staff performance reviews."
What other phrases do you as association managers practice in front of your mirror to help stamp out micromanagement? And how do you deal with the member who wants to evaluate the performance of your staff? Comments are welcome!
Oct. 23, 2009 - Developing Online Communities: The Seventh Step
The last step is really the Platinum Rule of everything we do as association managers: Think EASY, think SIMPLE.
If it’s complicated for the user, she won’t do it.Period.
If logging in to the site is difficult, or if there are too many clicks to get to the information, your whole online effort could be toast, as they say.Our members (and let’s face it, ourselves as well) simply haven’t got time for a learning curve.So keep asking yourself, how can I make this easier?More obvious?Did you leave out the instructions (like “Click HERE to register”)?
Our users expect the simplicity they find on other sites.For instance, I’m happy when I click on Amazon.com and I am automatically logged in from my home computer with the cheery message, “Welcome, Judith”, followed by “Your order is being shipped today, and here’s a couple of other books you might like to read.”
Or when e-Bay says, “How would you rate the service you got from the seller?”or “Did you want to buy something or sell something today, Judith?”
In either case, the greeting is warm and personal and the site anticipates what I want to do and allows me to do it in a click or two.And that’s the same kind of simple, uncluttered technology that’s needed in our association online communities.
Ever let a toddler loose in your living room?Put the knick-knacks in a safe place, and place pillows where the sharp edges are.Cover the electrical outlets with tape. Then put the baby on the floor and say, “Have fun.”
Oct. 23, 2009 - Developing Online Communities: Step Six
Staff participation in your online association activities is essential to success. Members can reach out directly to the staff person that can get the job done, or who has the specialized information they need. Communication is direct and simple, personal and informal.
However, there are some caveats.
First, develop a social media policy for your staff (see my blog suggestion)—one that encourages them to use these tools and participate appropriately in the association online communities.
Secondly, review those policies regularly with your staff. Role play some situations even. Discuss what are the strength of staff participation and what are the potential pitfalls. Understand too that you can’t keep your staff from Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn…so have discussions often about propriety and responsibility to your organization.
And finally, make sure that you and your staff keep in mind that quick response to the online community is the norm, not the exception. Pay attention to alerts and emails from your community and respond promptly. By the same token, don’t overwhelm the community with useless conversation or too many empty communications. Make sure your social media efforts really contribute to your communications programs: empty, unused Facebook pages, for instance, detract from your organization's dynamic profile.
All this takes some practice, of course, and there’ll be a few mistakes (like the member who sent her love letter to her boyfriend to the entire MLS list). But these things happen. And when they do, go back and review all the reasons you listed in Step One as to why associations should develop online communities in the first place.
My good friend and brilliant attorney Brian Larson recently posted an interesting blog entry on Tesseract, “Emancipating innovation from the ‘legacy customer”. Brian was writing about why legacy companies such as MLS vendors are slow to innovate. Most, he says, blame their customers: “as vendors we have to meet the needs of our customers by giving them what they want and are used to. We are not able to innovate because we don’t want to antagonize them and/or lose our reputation as a solid rock in times of change.”
One of my clients, a Realtor association, is also concerned about innovation. “We’ve got to be cutting edge,” the AE told me. “If we don’t move toward change, we are doomed as an association.”
I thought “doomed” might be a bit dramatic a prediction, but after I met with the association leadership I discovered a low percentage of association participation, a concerted effort on the part of the leadership to clone future leaders as themselves, and a sweeping ignorance of the profile and presence of younger members. Yep, “doomed” might be more appropriate than I originally thought.
Brian’s article came to mind: often we as AEs have legacy leadership, and those folks behave like Brian's legacy companies do. The Legacy Leader says:
“Yep: lotsa nice bells and whistles with that new MLS system. But OUR members don’t have a clue about technology. It won’t work here.” (Denial, Brian calls it.)
“Well, who can fund a technology strategic plan? We have enough problems running the association on the members’ dues dollars. If we have any extra, we should give it back to them. These are hard times. Who ever heard of Research and Development anyway?” (Funding Challenges.)
“Our members are salespeople. They won’t learn new stuff: they haven’t got time.” (Legacy technologies.)
“Of course the association next door has listings in our area, and we have some in theirs. But if those brokers want to get access, they can join both MLSs. We don’t do business like they do so we couldn’t fit together in any way. And they’d just come here and try to sell our listings anyway.” (Resistance to partnering—ever heard of it?)
“We’re here for our members. We gotta do what they tell us or there will really be an uproar.” (We couldn’t do anything different if we wanted to. It’s not our mission.)
As associations we have legacy customers. Many have spent years immersed in tradition: lots of committees, regular face-to-face meetings, a surplus of disposable time to be an association groupie, a governance hierarchy that is stiff and unbending. Add to that the phenomenon of the “Compliance Command”: simply stated the Compliance Command is to obey national association policy, or else….
(The Compliance Command, by the way, is for many a great excuse for not taking action—certainly not the intention of NAR, which uses policy compliance as a risk management tool, not as an avoidance of strategic inquiry.)
The question then is, how do AEs assist their associations in creating what Larson calls “a culture of innovation”? Is “association innovation” a contradiction in terms?
Another association thinker whom I regularly follow is Jeff De Cagna, of Principled Innovation. Jeff says: “Innovation is a social process that depends on people working collaboratively to identify, develop and nurture creative ideas”, and he suggests forming a “hot group” of members who act as a think tank and advisory group to the board of directors, and focus the group on solving current member problems, challenging them for new (and even dangerous) solutions. Recognize that solutions need not be costly: limit the group to a budget of, say, $1000 for an initial prototype or test. De Cagna says, “This is an example of a ‘generative constraint’ that can act as a catalyst for innovation.”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with legacy, of course, particularly if preservation is important to your business. However, I’m of the opinion that preservation isn’t a mission for MLS vendors and other technology companies, or for real estate trade associations. As association managers, it’s a good idea to recognize your legacy customers and find a way to balance their impact on your organization as you build a culture of innovation.
One of the other blogs I read regularly is Associations Inc. Kevin's entry this morning prompted the following thoughts, which I've re-posted on "Off Stage".
Most “committees” will no longer exist
“Mobile” will be the primary association communications channel
What’s “free” and what’s “paid” will look very different
Niches will grow in importance relative to the mass market
Geography is no longer that important, and as a result local components will focus on active, valuable and sustainable products and services, or else fade away
Leadership development models will change by necessity, because few people want to make multi-year commitments
The line between “member” and “customer” will become even more blurred
The list above is from Kevin at Associations Inc, and I thought it had a lot of very significant challenges for managers of trade associations, particularly the Realtor-flavored ones. Let's look at some implications of Kevin's general trends:
1. Get rid of your committees. Earlier I posted an article about running an association with just three committees. Think about that...and while you're thinking, start turning committees into work groups, task forces, online forums, users' groups, and wikis.
2. Mobile? What tools are in your mobile applications basket? Maybe an I-phone ap (see the California Association's product). A property search for smart phones? An association phone based network? Newsletter and event announcements via phone?
3. What's free and what's paid? Well, first start with understanding your core services. Know what's included in the members' dues dollar investment, and know the exact annual cost per member (don't forget enforcing professional standards--that's an expense component usually included in dues). Then, what add-ons that are free to the members? And then what menu services to you offer at additional fees? And are those fees enabling the product or service to be self-sustaining or profit making? Got business plans for each? Gives the phrase 'run your association in a business-like way' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
4. Niches. Does your association accomodate specialists like commercial specialists, international real estate, resort marketing, seniors, young professionals? Perhaps you need to combine forces with adjoing associations, states, or NAR to offer these services, but in this market place your members are no longer generalists (even though our whole membership structure is based on an association of generalist-salespersons and brokers).
5. Geography--another outmoded concept. No matter how isolated a local association thinks it is, if the truth be told--it isn't. And let's face it, the Realtor organization was founded on a geographically-based membership structure which no longer applies in an internet-based world. We spend a huge percentage of our resources preserving this anachronism: get over it. The average member doesn't do business this way any more, and he/she has little patience with an association whose restrictions limit his competitive abilities in a new business world.
6. You want new members? Knock holes in the walls. Let people who want to lead, lead. Eliminate some of the prerequisite hoops (gotta chair a committee, pass muster of the nominating good-old-boys). Also, recognize that not all leaders want to be president: they have no intention of leading in traditional channels. They just want to do a good job in an area for which they have passion. That area may not fit in our traditional governance models. As Clay Shirkey says, "Here comes everybody." Your governance needs to be prepared for the onrush.
7. Who's our customer? "Why, our MEMBERS", you say, with wide-eyed innocence, lip-syncing the party line. There's a problem here, of course. Not all products should be designed for all members, even if you consider that your members are card-carrying home salesmen and brokers. There's a difference between the skilled, seasoned professional and the new guy or gal. Hard to design programs that satisfy both at the same time: so know how to define your target market. Secondly, more and more the trend is to offer consumer services: it's just good image for Realtors. So what kinds of public service programs are you sponsoring: dispute resolution? a resource website? consumer education programs? a grass roots political action program for property owners? Affordable housing? (notice I've left off the generic mitten-collecting variety of public service). And what about those affiliated businesses? Are you genuinely building an informed, smooth-running business community regardless of function? Aren't these professionals customers too?
Interesting and very direct questions, aren't they? The real estate industry is coming to a crossroads, and so is its professional association. Now, more than ever, we need to be joining with association professionals like Kevin, and looking into the future and its very tough questions.
A behind the scenes look at organized real estate--what works in an association, what doesn't, and what a long time AE sees as challenges facing the industry from the viewpoint of its professional organization.
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