In the introduction to this series, I talked about the need to establish regular, meaningful communication between the president-elect and the staff manager, or AE. I urged you do to this regularly—maybe a weekly coffee, or regular phone call. It's important to be there, to gain cultivate familiarity and confidence—not to mention trust.
One of the most significant interruptions in the circuitry between the leadership and the staff is the lack of understanding of the differing roles of the two. Perhaps the best way to mitigate this hazard is to approach it directly: develop a written list between the President and the AE about the expectations one has of the other.
Begin first with the larger statements. Those are really the most difficult to talk about, but once you have an agreement, then the smaller duties ascribed to each party will become more clear and any disjunct will be apparent. As an example, I have a friend who is the CEO of a mid-sized Michigan association. Her Board of Directors went to a leadership conference and decided that she needed a new title: “Board Executive Officer” just wasn't enough: it was much more prestigious to be called “CEO”. And so they bestowed the title (needless to say, with no new job description or salary increase). I was talking to her the other day, and she told me the phone lines into the association office were clogged with calls from morning to night—not unusual when an association has grown 40% in three years. “Get another line,” I counseled.
“Well”, she said, “I could take that the the Board for their approval....”
Egad! A CEO who can't order in a telephone line?
Let's begin by looking at what a Board of Directors might expect from a CEO. What specific attributes can be defined by the Board? Of course many of these characteristics will be defined by the inner workings of the Board itself, but certainly there are some 'best practices' that can be articulated.
Leadership! This is not the familiar (and often meaningless) question of whether or not an association is 'staff driven' or 'leadership driven'. A well-run Board of Directors has specific goals (can you say “strategic plan?”) and the CEO (or AE, or EO) should have the ability, influence with members and community, and charisma to guide the organization on its stated path.
Team Player. It's not enough for the CEO to be a member of the staff. She is, in fact, THE member of the staff—she's in attendance at the pig roast and the bowling tourney, she's the cheerleader for Realtors, she's a performer. Staff members are often, by definition, followers. The Board expects a well-run, supportive team, and that will only come from a participating, interactive CEO.
Staff Manager: In addition to wielding the broom on association office clean-up day, the Board expects the CEO to manage the staff. The Board of Directors does not want to handle personnel problems, staff development issues, or retention problems. The Board members want a well-running and competent staff team, and they expect the CEO to bring this about.
Business Manager: In addition to being a staff manager, the CEO should be competent in the day-to-day management responsibilities of the organizational operations. In a Realtor association, this means knowing about issues and trends, volunteer management, program management, membership records and financial direction. It means that the Board expects the CEO to solve the problems that arise as they do in ant business, and to find help from delegation of responsibility and available resources.
Communication skills are also a key expectation for the CEO. The CEO must be able to convey the goals and programs of the association, and keep key players informed—be those players leadership, members, or staff. The Board of Directors does not want to be caught by ignorance, and the CEO must assume the responsibility of informing them IN ADVANCE of their need to know.
Picture this scenario: a Realtor comes into the Board president's real estate office and says, “Hey, Jack! I was just over at the Board office in this rainstorm and guess what! There's buckets and garbage cans all over the place collecting water. There's buckets of it! Everywhere! I betcha you're gonna have to raise dues for a new roof, eh? Probably you should think about cutting out those expensive trips you guys take to places like Las Vegas first. And staff salaries, don'tchaknow?”
The impending disastrous dialog would never take place if the President could have replied, “Yeah, I know. The AE has called the roofer, and we're still under warranty. Not to worry.”
Community involvement. Most Realtor associations are concerned with their community image—that's no surprise. And so it is that the CEO represents the community just as much as the association headquarters building or the media ads in which many associations invest. The CEO must be visible and active in the community, holding leadership positions in visible community groups and being an industry spokesperson in appropriate discussions.
Personal Ethics. The Board expects the CEO to behave in a manner consistent with the highest propriety. Without this reputation, the association cannot gain strength in the community.
Impeccable Financial Management and Control. Probably this requirement should be at the top of the list! By law, the members of the Board of Directors are the stewards of the organization's assets,and it is through the CEO that these responsibilities are implemented. If you as CEO or elected leader have any questions in this area, I invite you to refer to my Financial Operations Checklist ( http://www.judithlindenau.com/financial_checklist.pdf) which is available for your use on my website.
Business Development: Certainly over the last ten years the watchwords of “non-dues income” and “run like a business” have been increasingly more frequent in Realtor hallway discussions. Some of that is due, of course, to the failing economy in some areas, and the loss of association income due to declining membership. Expense cutbacks are the word of the day for many Realtor associations, and accompanying that is the need for CEOs to look for new income sources. When I was the manager of a small association, I used to call us the “Bake Sale Board of Realtors”, because it seemed that ever project needed to develop a funding source. But above and beyond that, CEOs need to be alert to the income potential available to them, and take the initiative in bringing to the Directors some new income—perhaps a new membership category, an income producing website, or an online class. Directors (and members) are busy with their own business development, and they expect the CEO to produce results in this area.
The buck stops here. Well, that's the bottom line, isn't it? Board of Directors don't want excuses as to why something didn't happen, or was unsuccessful. They want to have it HAPPEN, no matter how difficult. In that respect, Realtor association Directors are no different than Directors of large corporations and cause-driven non-profits.
Once again, the important lesson here is to talk about these expectations in a no-holds-barred conversation between leadership and CEO. Often, Directors have not allocated resources (either staff or financial) to meet their needs. In that case the Board must evaluate the compromises necessary to meet their goals. In other instances, the association staff person has been hired without any expressed expectations and have no idea that her former experience as a secretary or librarian (or even real estate salesperson) does not provide adequate knowledge and experience to move the organization on the right path.
Next: What the CEO (and staff) expects of the Board of Directors. | 
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