Month: March 2025

Personal Development Can Improve Community Engagement

Even in situations where blame rests with the poor decision-making of other people, homeowners can reset derailed experiences with neighborhood communities through work on their own skills and relationships. Personal development can improve community engagement. When homeowners have bad experiences with their condominiums and HOAs, there is a discernment process for where to place the blame, be it certain board or committee members, neighbors, managers, attorneys, the developer, the inadequacy of the laws or the bylaws. Quite often there are reasons that can be given as to why such things are contributing to the problem and may be the primary cause. My blog primarily focuses on the use of legal methods to tackle problems external to the client’s self and family.

Having collaborated with numerous clients in HOA disputes, I have noticed connections between certain personality traits and the varied outcomes of dispute resolution. In other words, one’s motivations, behavioral patterns and personal habits can be just as important as the facts or the actions of the opponent. I previously wrote an article for this blog entitled, “Does Civility Still Matter in HOAs and Condominiums?” The answer to this question is “yes,” because improving the likelihood of a good outcome is grounded in a mindset. Here are a few reasons why:

1. The right kind of engagement is helpful. The homeowner who never attends meetings, never reads their mail or emails, and does not keep records is not positioned to solve problems when they arise, because at that point what they can learn and who they can confer with will be defined by what the association is willing to share after the dispute has arisen. So those people who have collected various documents and developed relationships with other community members have an advantage in terms of meeting their needs. As a quick test, the reader may ask himself whether he is more engaged mentally with national politics or the affairs of his favorite sports team or the business of his community association.
2. Bad engagement is worse than low engagement. Sending that incendiary email blast to a list of email accounts may be chock full of truth but there may be reasons why it does not solve the problem.  The community may have all sorts of problems that need to be discussed. But insecure, angry or fearful mindsets do not lead to constructive communication. That may be the owner, or it may be the board. You need to have some friends and allies. When things escalate to a certain level of acrimony, it may be necessary to have a representative or filter to keep things cool.
3. Motivations and goals of yourself and those surrounding you. Is this property an investment that will be sold at a foreseeable time in the future or is this the forever home that feels like an aspect of their personhood? Or a little of both? Is the community a “starter home” place or do people buy homes there that they live in until they transition to a nursing home? One must understand what you and the other parties are trying to achieve. Consider taking up a social or recreational activity in the community to better understand the the interests of your “business partners.”
4. Leaders are not born, they are made. People do not become leaders merely because they are rich, they are masters of a professional discipline, or because of innate ability. Most successful leaders were cultivated as such from an early age and grew until they became self-motivated. Many people find themselves in situations where their peers or superiors do not see them as potential leaders so they are not given opportunities to develop confidence in such things. Fortunately, there are options other than paid coaches or health professionals. For example, Toastmasters International is an organization that exists to transform its members into public speakers and leaders.

The attorney is not simply taking on a case. The law firm is partnering with a client that must be managed collaboratively from the first minute of the initial consultation until the file closing letter. When presented with a choice, an attorney will avoid clients who shift the entire responsibility or blame for their problems onto other people. Every client is a human being that is more than a rational unit in a utilitarian system. Understanding human factors is essential to engineering solutions that do not merely amplify or dampen rhetorical or manipulative conduct by one side or the other. Disputes that have have been going on for years among groups whose underlying interests are fundamentally divergent may not be quickly resolved simply by a positive outlook or intentional socializing. But if the homeowner feels more relaxed, confident and supported, the risk of falling victim to manipulative behavior, or resorting to manipulative strategies is minimized.