So, what makes a condominium manager a good ethical manager, one who does the right thing all the time?

As managers  we have  fiduciar y obligations to the corporations we manage.  Keep in  mind  that  fiduciary obligation means total trust, good faith and honesty which makes an ethical manager a good manager to have at our sites and something to strive for as a manager. We have large budgets to handle – some of them run up to a million dollars a year depending on the size of the corporations and  the  amenities associated w ith them. We are under obligations to assist our residents and corporations with the management of their shared common  elements, and most residents take pride of ownership of, not only their individual homes, but the common elements as well. Boards put a large amount of trust in managers and management firms to do their best in good faith and honestly.  Trust is the key here and why managers should always do the right thing all the time.

Since we handle large budgets, we depend on good, reliable and compe- tent contractors to carry out this work. Inexperienced managers or managers who bring contractors from the web or unknown contractors to the corpo- rations, sometimes bring a multitude of trouble  w ith  them.   Most large management firms spend considerable time investigating contractors, using them at sites and generally reviewing their work ethics and stabil- ity in the work places to ensure our corporations are managed to a high standard. Having strong connections w ith  we l l-establishe d  cont r a c tors make our jobs easier. They bring with them years of experience, and we can rely on them and trust them to meet our high expectations for the job to be done right and done right the first time. When managers bring in these unknowns, sometimes they will get lucky, other times not, especially on large projects. Keep in mind most of our projects are large projects. Manag- ers have to take on the role of overseer, 

one who handles the payment schedule, one who ensures the project stays on schedule, one who must make sure to limit the inconvenience of our resi- dents. This puts a burden on managers and boards in general. When we use contractors who are unknown, the burden is doubled or even tripled onto the manager causing undue hardship, more work and even possibly loss of trust with the board. Once you start losing trust with the board, the board will have you removed as they feel that you are not doing the work in a true honest and good faith manner. Doing the right thing all the time allows for a great working environment between
 
the manager, management firm and the board.

A good manager needs to establish an honest rapport with not only the board but with the residents of the community and their colleagues they work with. An ethical manager will be honest to all and to themselves as well. Your reputation  in this area of expertise is all we really have other than  the knowledge and  education we have learned over the years.  So build a clean reputation and strive to be the best manager you can possibly be at all times. One should never lie to the community or the board as this will undoubtedly lead to breaking of
 
the fiduciary obligations that we hold dearly as good managers. Like in every working environment you will come across good and bad, but we should always strive to do our best and weed out the bad.  Having CMRAO as our new watch dog does so but still we need to do more to remove the bad ones.
How we treat others and others treat us helps to establish us as good manag- ers, but sometimes the situation will escalate causing discord within the community which is not good. Being the best all the time is the way to go. Good common  sense, great morals, trust, loyalty, education and knowl- edge are just a few ways to determine a good manager from a bad manager, and if we apply them in our day-to-day operations at our sites, we will show
and gain the respect and trust we aim for, so aim high!

A good manager will help the community they work in, in whatever way possible, they will continue to educate the board on the proper procedures, and above all else help them make the proper  decision for the best interest of the corporation. However, you  w ill run  into  times when this may not always work and when you do, make sure you have it in the minutes, and let the board know that what you believe they are doing is wrong. This way you keep a moral and strong ethical status.
Being the best ethical manager is being the best person you can be. Use the tools you have learned from your mentors and from the courses and from whomever else leads you in the right direction of being the best you can be. When you come across some- one who you feel is not being a good manager report them and don’t be shy about it.  We have finally reached a point in our industry that we are being viewed as professionals and we need to keep it that way as we still have a long way to go to ensure that we all can be the best we can be. Professional, ethical managers! 

Ann Horruzey,  RCM has been a senior property manager for the past 20+ years. She enjoys the most rewarding career with its ups and downs, dealing with people’s problems daily and wondering when she’ll get to her own job. fsresidential.com
 

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