Live Blogging -- Conflict Resolution

I'm at the Utah Chapter of the Community Association Institute's monthly meeting, and John Richards is presenting on conflict resolution in communities.

The first question to ask, suggests John, is should the association be involved in the conflict? Good question; not surprisingly, there are differing opinions in the audience. Dale Gifford, PCAM, suggests that the association should, at a minimum, investigate and listen empathetically to the unit owner's concerns.

There's some discussion about whether owners' complaints should be directed initially to the association's board, rather than to the association's manager. John has seen at least one article that suggests that is a form of conflict avoidance by the board; that generated a lively discussion amongst the managers who are present.

I'd respectfully suggest that I don't know many board members who are interested in fielding such complaints; beyond that, I question whether many board members have the training and experience to appropriately respond to these complaints. I would hope that professionally trained managers would know better than the average board member as to how to deescalate a conflict.