The Neighborhood Association President: Head Administrator

For almost ten years, I have served as the president of our neighborhood association, and recently, I was asked to share some thoughts about what that role entails. More specifically, I was told that I would have ten minutes to summarize what a neighborhood association president does and why it is important. I was also supposed to come up with some “perks” of the position. As I reflected upon the last ten years, I quickly realized that the job is far more than what the official job description describes. Indeed, the job description in our association bylaws is a single paragraph filled with weighty words which only barely scratch the surface. Therefore, I thought I would record some thoughts in a series of blog posts about the four major roles of the neighborhood association president.

The second major role of the neighborhood association president is that of the chief administrator. Our neighborhood bylaws describe this as the “day-to-day operations,” and that really is what it is. This role is crucial because it is not uncommon for the general membership to meet bi-monthly or quarterly, with a few associations in our city meeting on a monthly basis. Our association meets during even-numbered months (e.g., February, April), and our board of directors meets during odd-numbered months (e.g., January, March). Invariably, though, there are matters that must be attended between meetings. This is where the president comes in.

During any given week, I may make a handful of social media posts, attend a meeting or two, respond to a couple of concerned neighbors, and/or correspond with the city. For example, I received today a list of the streets across the city that would be resurfaced, sealed, and otherwise maintained during this construction season. I took a few minutes to look through the list, find the affected roads in our neighborhood, and fire an email response back to ask a quick question. Earlier this week, I received notice of a matter that will be addressed by the plan and zoning commission. In such cases, I typically review what is being proposed and decide whether or not it is worth bringing to the board of directors for a response. I also met with some people to help plan our upcoming Summer Fest. In general, these routine tasks fall into just a couple of categories.

Support. In every organization, there are things that must be done to accomplish the primary mission, and there are things that must be done so you can do the things that accomplish the primary mission. Contrary to popular opinion, in the most effective neighborhood associations, the president falls into the latter category. Please do not misunderstand. They will still do plenty of mission-critical things, but it is the president’s responsibility to ensure that everyone has what they need to be effective. For instance, a couple weeks ago, our association partnered with several others to host a fundraiser, and those checks needed to be dropped in the mail this week. We also must reserve a park and file for a sound permit for our next event. I compare this part of the job to the role of a project manager. Several years ago, my friend worked as a project manager for a large tech firm. He described his job as being less about telling people what to do and more about making sure that his team had everything they needed so they could focus on their work.

This is a key lesson because some people I know imagine the president to be a glamorous and powerful position. However, the best neighborhood presidents are the ones who schedule and meet the mulch delivery so the beautification team can do its job. They are the ones who pick up the flyers so the event planners do not have to. They are the ones who fill out the annual recertification survey, reserve parks, and file for sound permits. They run errands, deliver water bottles, and take out the trash so others can focus on the work.

Correspondence. The other key administrative task is attending to the association’s correspondence. This involves receiving and reading the mail, email, and phone calls. It could be with vendors, city staff, politicians, or neighbors. Some of these will require immediate responses. Others will need to be delegated to different team members. Still others will require deliberation by the board of directors or even the general membership. Of course, there is also the incessant flow of junk mail. It also involves writing letters and emails and making phone calls. For instance, the president may be responsible for writing a letter calling the city council to action. They may send an email asking the traffic engineers to investigate options for calming a busy road. They may call city staff to inquire about a proposed building project in the area.

When it comes to correspondence, there are two points which should be highlighted. First, the president must maintain a professional and optimistic tone at all times. Everything they write or say will reflect on the association, and it therefore has the potential to either bolster or undermine the association’s effectiveness. This is especially important when dealing with people with whom the president or association may disagree. For example, there have been times when our neighborhood association has advocated for things that city officials resisted. For months – years, even – we have written letters and emails with no results, and it is in such cases very easy to grow frustrated and bitter. Such things must not bleed into the association’s correspondence.

Second, and perhaps most important, you will need to develop a thick skin. Notice, there is a fine line between having a thick skin and being callous. The best neighborhood association presidents will learn to tolerate criticism, both warranted and unwarranted, and snide remarks. There will be people who criticize you and the association for changing too much. There will be people who complain that you and the association have not changed enough. When the association is celebrating a tremendous victory, they will poop on the parade. The president will want to scream. They will want to blast trolls and debate detractors. However, such things are absolutely counterproductive and must be avoided at all costs.