TimeSharing Today Page 45 May / Jun, 2018
the others on the board. Then I would negotiate with board members about needed next steps.
The board president also is equally responsible for fostering civil discourse, teamwork, the job satisfaction of board members, and a partnership relationship with management.
Real leadership of the board’ s tasks and functions, its social-emotional climate, and its relationship with management is important to the wellbeing of the entire organization. I found performing the conceptual leadership and then following through with negotiation of changes to be one of the most challenging aspects of the job.
Enjoy dealing with people
Not only are you responsible for fostering board member satisfaction, you are the board’ s primary connection and spokesperson with the owners. You become the“ listener” to the owners and communicator of board decisions verbally and in written newsletters and reports.
The board presidents I interviewed believe that one of the most important things they do is to listen and interact with owners,“ to get an idea of where they are coming from and if they are getting what they need.” The presidents also report that this is the most timeconsuming thing they do.
One board president reported that she talks with five to 10 owners a day. She said,“ I consider myself the owners’ advocate.” Several reported that they had spent as long as three and four hours with a single owner who was especially distraught.
The personal qualities needed for this part of the job are the ability to stand in the owner’ s shoes with patience and compassion, and the ability to influence, persuade, and communicate relevant information in response to owners’ concerns.
One board president said,“ You’ ve got to come in with the attitude of giving service to make the resort better than you found it.” Another president said,“ I never introduce myself as the president of the board. I say,‘ I serve you on the board.’”
I found working with people to be the most enjoyable part of the job as well as, at times, very challenging.
Questions to ask yourself
• Are you able to manage the dilemma of being a visionary working with a long-term perspective and the demands of both management and owners who bring you the day-to-day problems?
• Do you have a“ service mentality”— i. e., are you willing to give yourself to serving the owners?
• Do you have the patience and compassion to deal with the disgruntled and often elderly owners in legacy resorts?
• Are you willing to spend the time to build a strong partnership relationship with your resort manager, having conversations with him or her weekly?
• Are you comfortable reaching out to identify and recruit potential board members and ensure that they get sufficient orientation and training?
• Do you enjoy working hard?
• Do you have a sense of humor to boot?
Spending your time
One board president said that he considered the presidency his“ second full-time job.” Actually, he had worked it down to about 20 hours a week.
When we didn’ t have a management company at my resort, I worked at the job for 30 hours a week. Once we had a management company I worked an average of 10 hours on most weeks from my home, 1,200 miles from the resort; and 50 hours during board-meeting weeks on-site.
I have not talked to a president who works less than five hours a week every week year-round and less than 10 hours a week on board-meeting weeks. Whether you can rely on competent on-site management makes a huge difference in the time you will spend as a board president.
Satisfactions in the job
I asked the board presidents what they found enjoyable and fulfilling about the role of board president. They expressed pleasure in having converted disgruntled owners into happy campers,“ talking to owners who are upset and turning them around in a half hour and seeing them change their minds.”
The board presidents enjoyed the relationships which they developed with other board members and owners“ who
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send me many nice emails these days.”
They had a strong sense of accomplishment about the improvements they had been able to make in their resorts— including, in two cases, the total renovation of all the buildings in the resort.
My sense of accomplishment came from managing my resort’ s final recovery after a hurricane, the transition from a self-managed resort to a resort with a management-company relationship, and from setting precedents for effective board functioning which remain in place today.
One board chair said,“ I love being the board chair.” All of us would likely agree that the job is simultaneously both challenging and rewarding.
We recommend that you seriously consider taking it on.
Lynne Kweder is an organization development consultant, a board certified coach, trainer of boards of directors and management, and administrator. She spent seven years as board president of the Turtle Reef Condominiums I, Inc.( dba Turtle Reef Club), Jensen Beach, FL.
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