Leading volunteers
Nobody on your board gets paid. How you lead them determines whether they stay.
Leading volunteers means giving them real authority and tools, not just a task list, then stepping back and letting them use it. Rotate roles instead of leaning on the same few people until they burn out. And remember the board's own job is service to the community, not control over it.
Give ownership, not just a task list
When you hand a job to a committee volunteer, decide what decisions go with it. Assigning "organize the fall social" but then picking the caterer yourself is not delegation, it is a task list with your name still on it.
"Delegation is about empowering people by giving them the authority, tools, and confidence they need to succeed."
Source: Delegation: Key to Successful HOA Leadership, Community Associations Institute
Once you have handed off a decision, let the volunteer make it. Stepping back in to approve every detail takes the task back and tells the volunteer their judgment did not actually count. The board's own value is deciding what needs doing and who is doing it, then letting committees and management handle the rest.
You are leading a community, not running one
How you lead volunteers starts with why you think you are there. A board that treats its authority as something to defend tends to treat its volunteers the same way: as people to direct rather than people to support.
"Excellent board members understand that their position is one of service rather than control."
Source: How to prepare for a HOA volunteer role, Community Associations Institute
That framing matters when a fellow board or committee volunteer makes a call you would have made differently. Service means you let their call stand if it was made in good faith and within their assignment, even when it is not the one you would have picked.
Rotate roles before people burn out
The same three volunteers running every committee for years is not a sign of a strong board, it is a sign of a board that has not built a bench.
"Term limits also can provide insurance against volunteer burnout."
Source: Volunteers: How to Recruit, Engage, and Nurture in Your Community, Community Associations Institute
Once someone has taken on a role, give them real ownership and support rather than a leash. Then plan for someone else to take that role next. Whether your bylaws set term limits for board or committee roles, and how committees are structured, varies by association. Check your own bylaws and board-adopted policies.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
You ask a new committee volunteer to organize the fall social. Two weeks in, you catch yourself picking the caterer and approving the flyer yourself. What went wrong?
Your board has kept the same three committee chairs for eight straight years, and all three mention feeling exhausted. What does CAI recommend as protection against this?
A new board member wants to overrule the manager's contractor recommendation just to show the board is in charge. What does CAI's framing of board service suggest about this instinct?
Sources
- Delegation: Key to Successful HOA Leadership, Community Associations Institute
- How to prepare for a HOA volunteer role, Community Associations Institute
- Volunteers: How to Recruit, Engage, and Nurture in Your Community, Community Associations Institute
Board Leadership
Next up: how to delegate a task without losing sight of it, in Delegation.
Whether your bylaws set term limits for board or committee roles, how much authority a committee chair actually holds, and how committees are structured all vary by association. Check your own bylaws and board-adopted policies.