TS Today - Creating a Vision for the Future of Vacation Ownership Issue #159 May/Jun 2018 | Page 44

TimeSharing Today
Page 44
disabilities all apply to the management
of timeshares.
The requirements and issues you
will encounter are complex and con-
stantly developing and changing. You
need to learn enough to understand
what you don’t know. A current presi-
dent said, “Educate yourself about time-
shares and everything they encompass.
You do not need to be an expert. You do
need to know your resources!”
Study and learn
A readiness to study and learn is a
basic requirement of the job. The board
presidents I interviewed highly recom-
mended the Timeshare Board Members
Association meetings for up-to-date in-
formation and inspiration, and the Com-
munity Associations Institute literature.
I would add BoardSource, a re-
spected source of information about
leading non-profi t boards of directors.
Once in the role, of course, your
legal, engineering, professional ac-
counting, and other expert advisors are
invaluable. If you decide to take the job,
May/Jun, 2018
begin your education as soon as possible
by accessing and using some of these re-
sources. Connect with the organizations
cited above and download educational
material. Attend the next scheduled
Timeshare Board Members Association
meeting. Interview your current board
president and resort manager with ques-
tions inspired by your research.
Exercise real leadership
Effective board presidents concep-
tualize, design, organize, and coordinate
the work of the board with a long-term
(fi ve-year) perspective on their resorts.
This is the unique work of the board
president, and, in my opinion, the most
important work of the job.
You need to understand and be sure
that all the functions of a board are car-
ried out—the pro-active, board-initiated
governance functions as well as the
oversight functions related to manage-
ment of the resort.
Proactive functions include stra-
tegic planning; regular evaluations of
both management and the board; poli-
cy reviews and development; recruit-
ing, orienting and developing the board
members; and hiring the auditor, attor-
ney, and other board consultants.
Oversight functions when you have
on-site management include ensuring
that all legal requirements are met, ade-
quate insurance is purchased, exercising
budget and fi scal oversight, annual plan-
ning and reserves decisions, approving
major expenditures, and monitoring the
resort’s business functions and results.
Put everyone to work
Also, you want to be sure that ev-
eryone on the board has important work
to perform, contributing to the whole.
Designing, organizing, and coordi-
nating the work of the board involves
creating the individual jobs and com-
mittees needed to accomplish the work,
creating job descriptions and committee
charges where necessary, and delegating
responsibility for each of the functions
and tasks.
I found myself in the position of al-
ways thinking and planning far ahead of
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