Important Manager Qualities

What qualities are important in a good community association manager?

by: Lindsay Raphael, Esq.  2014

When interviewing a community association manager, the board of directors should have an idea of what it expects from its manager and make sure the manager understands the expectations.

The manager’s job is to make the board’s job easier and make sure that the association is run properly and diligently.  That sounds much easier than it actually is.  Being a manager is definitely not an easy job and involves not only being knowledgeable about the property, the association’s governing documents and the law, but also juggling many different issues and personalities.

A manager should have the following qualities:

• Well organized;
• Excellent people skills;
• Proactive and not reactive;
• Great planner;
• Takes ownership in the property;
• Accountability;
• Great communicator;
• Knowledgeable about the law (but should not practice law);
• Great follow up—the board shouldn’t have to ask the same question multiple times or ask for an update;
• Good leader—the manager needs to be able to manager the staff and lead by example;
• Delegator;
• Walk the property;
• Great attention to detail;
• Reads and understands the association’s governing documents;
• Uses common sense; and
• Patience (this is one is difficult when you are dealing with so many different personalities)

A great manager can make the board’s job easier, but it is also important that the board understands what it is the manager needs to be doing.  When the board is able to explain to the manager during the interview process what it is the board expects, the board is more likely to hire the right manager.