Five Ways Condo Boards Accidentally Drive Great Managers Away
Good condominium managers are difficult to find, develop and retain.
They work with volunteer boards, owners, contractors, lawyers, engineers, accountants and emergency responders—often in the same week. They manage competing priorities while operating within board-approved budgets and decisions.
Then, just as they finish handling a flood, someone emails asking why the lobby plant looks tired.
This does not mean managers should be protected from accountability. Boards should expect professional service, accurate information and consistent follow-through.
However, the relationship works both ways.
Here are five behaviours that can turn a capable, engaged condominium manager into someone quietly updating their resume.
1. Micromanaging Every Task
A board’s job is to establish direction, make decisions and oversee results.
The manager’s job is to execute those decisions and manage day-to-day operations. At Mission, we emphasize a clear division of responsibilities: the board governs and establishes direction, while the condominium manager implements the board’s decisions and oversees the corporation’s daily operations.
Micromanagement occurs when the board delegates a task but continues controlling every step.
For example:
“Please obtain three quotes for replacing the parkade door.”
That is a clear assignment.
Micromanagement begins when several directors separately contact the manager to recommend contractors, rewrite the email to bidders, request updates every two days and debate what time the site visit should occur.
The manager is no longer managing the project. They are managing the board’s involvement in the project.
A Better Approach
Define:
· The required outcome
· Any spending limit
· Important specifications
· The decision deadline
· When the board expects an update
Then allow the manager to execute.
The manager may take a different route than an individual director would. That is acceptable when the manager reaches the approved outcome professionally and within the board’s parameters.
2. Turning Every Meeting Into a Marathon
Long meetings are not automatically productive meetings.
A three-hour board meeting often contains the same amount of decision-making as a focused 90-minute meeting—the difference is usually repetition, side conversations and discussion of issues that do not require board action.
Managers commonly attend meetings after completing a full workday. Excessively long meetings create fatigue, increase management costs and reduce the manager’s availability for actual property work.
A board meeting should not resemble an unedited director’s cut.
A Better Approach
Use:
· A timed agenda
· Written management reports
· Clearly identified decision items
· Motions when decisions are ready
· A parking-lot list for topics requiring later research
Information that can be read should generally be circulated before the meeting. Meeting time should focus on questions, debate and decisions.
3. Holding Meetings That Do Not Need to Exist
Some boards schedule meetings because the calendar says it is time—not because there is meaningful business to conduct.
Regular oversight is important. However, a meeting may not be necessary when:
· There are no significant decisions required
· Financial reporting is routine
· Projects are progressing normally
· The management report contains no major concerns
· Minor updates can be circulated in writing
The solution is not to eliminate oversight. It is to distinguish between a decision meeting and an information update.
A short written report can sometimes replace a two-hour meeting involving seven directors and a condominium manager.
That is not reduced governance. It is efficient governance.
4. Communicating Without Respect or Professionalism
Boards are entitled to question performance. They can challenge recommendations, request clarification and address missed expectations.
They should not insult, threaten, belittle or publicly embarrass the manager.
Condominium managers work for a licensed brokerage and serve the corporation under a management agreement. They are not the personal employee of each director.
At Mission, we encourage managers and boards to establish clear policies for responding to owner and board requests. However, rude communication, personal attacks or harassment should never be accepted as a normal part of condominium management.
Professionalism matters most when something has gone wrong.
Compare These Two Messages
Unproductive:
“Once again, management has completely failed. How hard is it to get a contractor to show up?”
Professional:
“The contractor has now missed two appointments. Please confirm what happened, what action management is taking and when the work will be completed.”
Both messages address the problem.
Only one creates a productive path forward.
5. Over-Communicating
More communication does not always mean better service.
A manager may receive separate emails from the president, treasurer, secretary and three directors—all discussing the same subject from different perspectives.
Some messages contain new directions. Others ask for updates. Others revise instructions that another director already provided.
The manager must then determine:
· Whether the board has actually made a decision
· Which director has authority to provide direction
· Whether different instructions conflict
· Who requires a response
· Whether the manager should wait for the next meeting
At Mission, we recommend appointing one primary board liaison so the manager does not receive competing directions from several directors.
A Better Approach
Choose one primary board contact.
Consolidate comments before sending them.
Use board meetings to establish collective direction.
Do not copy the manager on internal board debates until the board has reached a decision or requires professional input.
Accountability Still Matters
None of this means a board should tolerate poor service.
A healthy relationship requires:
· Clear service standards
· Reasonable response expectations
· Accurate management reports
· Documented decisions
· Honest feedback
· Escalation when commitments are missed
A good board does not avoid difficult conversations. It handles them directly, promptly and professionally.
At Mission, we recommend first addressing performance concerns directly with the condominium manager. If the issue is not corrected, the board should escalate the matter to the manager’s supervisor or the brokerage’s leadership.
The Best Boards Make Good Managers Better
The strongest board-manager relationships are not built by lowering expectations.
They are built through clear expectations, appropriate delegation, mutual respect and efficient communication.
Great boards hold managers accountable for outcomes without trying to personally control every action.
They remember that the manager’s time is a limited resource. Every unnecessary meeting, repetitive email or internal board disagreement consumes time that could have been spent improving the property.
Your manager should feel accountable.
They should not feel trapped.
Mission Management helps condominium boards establish clear communication protocols, defined responsibilities and practical management systems that support stronger results.
