At every point in her career, a community manager or Board
Member is faced with a choice to follow their inner moral code or not. Sometimes, when choosing the latter the
community manager or board member rationalizes and justifies her decision, “I’m
wearing the black eye for the entire industry;” “I needed to feed my children
that week.” Ultimately in the end, the
manager or director not following the ethics, code of conduct or legal
requirements set forth by CAI and the NRED CIC Commission, loses their
reputation. Once her reputation is
tarnished, maintaining employment or a board position in this industry is
increasingly difficult, it doesn’t matter how well her management or director skills
are honed.
Practicing ethics in today’s world is an increasing
challenge and is immeasurable. The
ethics of this writer may be different than the reader’s ethics. Some people define ethics as what is legal;
however, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical. If one travels down the unethical path, how
does one get their ethics back?
It’s easy for the industry to continue to condemn managers or
board members, if they are continuously beating themselves up for the
mistake. Accepting the error that was
made and attempting to make amends to the people that were hurt by the oversight,
demonstrates that the manager or director has acknowledged the gaffe. Then,
they can take the situation as a learning experience and teach other managers and
directors how the lapse has affected their life and encourage others to not
make the same miscalculation. Once the colleagues
and homeowners see that she has learned from the action and accepted the
consequences of her actions, they may be willing to understand the
situation. This demonstration of skill may regain the trust of a manager’s or
director’s associates and teammates.
Now that the faux
pas has been acknowledged the next step is to take action to rectify and
correct the wrong. This is easier said
than done, if the inaccuracy includes one of CAI’s top Ethic Complaints;
Embezzlement, Fraud, Forgery, Theft, Misappropriated Funds, Conflict of
Interest, Price Fixing or Unlicensed Practice.
If the mistake concerns embezzlement, do not rationalize the theft,
offer to make amends and repay the victim.
If it concerns improper transition or failure to turn over documents,
agree to improve the transition process in the future always remain civil and
professional. If it concerns conflict of
interest, practice disclosure, no matter how silly or inconsequential the conflict
may seem. If you are unlicensed, get
licensed don’t practice law, insurance or any other profession without the
proper license. Above all, maintain your
model professionalism, composure and a positive attitude.
Against sociology beliefs, when I encounter a member of the
industry that others view as unethical, I’m intrigued. Not because I want to learn to be unethical,
but because I want to learn from her mistakes.
Every day the CIC Industry can learn something new from each
participating member, even those judged to be the most unprincipled, can teach
future manager’s the utmost in ethics.
How? At one point a good manager
made a poor decision. Future managers
should be shown, there are reinforcements to improper decision making to
prevent a future mistake.
Ultimately, the choice to be ethical, moral and just, lies
within each individual. It is taught by
society, parents, families, associates and friends. I made the choice to think positive and make
upbeat decisions in regards to the Associations I manage.
Positive work attitudes say, “I
can achieve success.” Negative work
attitudes say, “I cannot achieve success.” When negativity is exhibited by expecting
challenges and difficulties, interactions with industry professionals are
strained. People don’t always want to be
around, not only do they not trust an alleged unethical manager, but the
alleged unethical manager’s view of the industry is dismal
and bleak, creating an even greater divide.
Being happy is a choice, to look at the brighter side of
life and staying optimistic. Smiling is contagious,
do it often, it helps to stay optimistic.
Associate yourself with happy people that are inspiring, well respected
and ethical. These professionals may
often change your thought process and encourage you to make more rewarding,
ethical choices. Most importantly treat
people how you would like to be treated, and ask, “Would I do this if my
grandma, dad, mom, kids, grandkids (insert your person of choice) could see me
now?”