Setting Goals

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Set your goals, make your plans, and live your dreams!
Community association board members are often faced with competing factions in the community who demand that the board fulfill their demands. Without a clear mission statement and goals, the board may have difficulty determining what course of action is best for the majority of members in the community. How do board members formulate goals to accomplish during their term of office?
The first step community association board members must consider in setting goals is determining the needs and concerns of their members. This information can be obtained through the use of a resident questionnaire or by holding town hall meetings where residents have an opportunity to express their concerns.
Goals that are supported by a majority of the community’s residents will attract more volunteers and are more likely to be achieved. Once needs and concerns are ascertained, goal setting becomes easy. Achieving them, on the other hand, may be another matter entirely.
Goal setting is part of the overall community planning process. Board members should consider various options for meeting the members’ needs and then establish priorities for achieving the goals. The board should then develop specific plans and programs from which to work.
New association board members often know what they would like to accomplish before their first day on the job. By defining these goals, the entire board can collaborate on filtering their goals to a reasonable number and then take the first big step toward fulfilling them. Here are a few suggestions to help boards get started:

  • After identifying the association’s most urgent needs, make a list of five goals you would like to accomplish in the next six months. Only include realistic attainable goals. Seek out those that are achievable in the near term with results that are likely to be highly visible to the community. Examples of short term goals include: removing an abandoned vehicle, acquiring a stop sign, or clearing a vacant lot. Many associations view common area improvements as the most pressing community need. Boards who address these needs before they become larger issues are adopting a proactive management style that should be well received.
  • Set realistic goals. Board members who set unattainable goals may frustrate other board members and create the perception of failure for all concerned.
  • Establish a solid working relationship with management staff. The board president should start by setting a meeting with management and sharing the board’s ideas. Solicit advice from the manager. The success of many association programs depends on open communication and interaction with management.
  • Plan improvements in stages. Even dedicated volunteers with unlimited resources need time to accomplish their goals. Don’t plan to achieve all of the association’s goals overnight. Continuity is better than drastic change – unless the association requires immediate change to continue or safeguard operations. Long-term goals are more time consuming and more difficult to accomplish. These goals require patience and hard work on the part of the membership. Long-term goals might include developing a park, amending legal documents, raising funds for a street lighting project, or installing window awnings.
  • Clarify association goals with the manager. Managers often help the board utilize existing programs to achieve their goals. Though enthusiastic, new board members often want to make their mark on the community. However, they should never waste resources by ignoring existing programs or the expertise of previous volunteers or a management professional.
  • Give appropriate credit to contributing members. Always thank members who help out. This helps to maintain volunteer interest and will draw new members into association activities.
  • Work as a team. Board and committee members and management staff are all part of a team that runs the community. As team captain, the association president should not overlook the value of the other members’ contributions. Compliment members when they make valued suggestions and ask for advice when needed. By expressing confidence in volunteers, the president helps to build a strong team.

Remember, success is the art of trying to improve upon the very things you are currently doing. Achieving goals keeps the momentum of an association going. When board members can see the results of their efforts, they are more eager to get on with the next project and are more willing to tackle the toughest of assignments.
This article is provided by Associa Living.