Heritage Circle Condominiums

Odd Man Out?

There’s always one. At least one person in every community that makes your job that much harder! There is one person that, no matter what you do, isn’t satisfied that you have done it good enough or fast enough. You can stay up hours after a meeting to complete the minutes, email them to the Board, and do five of the ten things on the “To Do List” by 9am the next morning following a meeting. . . and they wonder why you didn’t do the other five things first. You can take five steps forward for a good deed done, and then go tumbling down the hill when that one person spreads misinformation within the community about you. You won’t ever be appreciated by them, but you continue to try. Why?

Even if you are the odd man out today, chances are that difficult owner’s true colors will eventually be seen by others. They will become a nuisance to not only you, and your staff, but to the association’s attorney, insurance agent, and any vendor that has the misfortune of coming into contact with them. Today, you may struggle with those challenges, but stand tall. Continue to work diligently and prove yourself to all those that benefit daily from your hard work and effort. In our positions as community managers, we are not complimented or appreciated by the customers as often as we might like. They have their own perceptions of what we do, so we must continue to give them more than they expect. One should pursue education and attend seminars and training session on strategies to cope with difficult people and challenging situations.

You don’t have to know everything there is to know about life or the community association management world to be effective. You have resources to go to for assistance when the problems are beyond your level of experience. You do need to maintain your composure, always be professional and put your best forward on a daily basis. If you achieve these small goals, you will be perceived with respect amongst your peers and your clients. There will always be that “one” to push you towards being not only a better property manager, but a better person. If you are able to deal with and handle difficulty in the workplace, imagine how well you will deal with personal adversity? You will become an emotionally and personally stronger individual, ready to face new challenges outside the office. This confidence will spill over into your work and the cycle will be complete.

We can’t choose our family and we typically don’t choose our neighbors. Potential clients that seek our help often come to us with problems and need our help to solve one crisis or another. Having the experience of dealing with difficult owners can only increase our ability to service new clients. Find that silver lining and embrace the challenges. These are opportunities for advancement! Your business activities with all of your customers should be professional, proactive, or passive. . . but never hostile or threatening. You should give your best, no matter what. When people see a highly trained, professional and competent association manager, they see a reflection of a good and solid management company. . . the best advertisement for continued growth and success.

Great character, great service, great success! Sometimes, it’s good to be the odd man out!