CMCA credential holders celebrating 10, 15 and 20 years as credential holders were sent a commemorative pin to recognize their achievement.   Congratulations!

All CMCAs work with CAMICB to set and maintain the standard for the community association management profession worldwide. Take a moment to reflect on what you have achieved:

• You earned the CMCA credential, the only internationally recognized credential for community association managers, making a clear and visible commitment to professionalism in your field and becoming part of a highly respected community of over 17,000 CMCA-credentialed managers around the world
• You committed to uphold the CMCA Standards of Professional Conduct, a commitment indicative of genuine respect for your clients, your peers, and your profession, and you have honored that commitment
• You have reaffirmed your commitment to professionalism in your field by maintaining your CMCA credential in good standing and completing an ongoing program of professional continuing education

For those of you with a new pin, wear it with pride!  Take a selfie with your pin and send it to CAMICB at info@camicb.org – we’d love to share your accomplishment on our Facebook page.

CAMICB’s mission is to ensure that community association managers practice with professionalism, integrity, and knowledge.  For more than 20 years we have been dedicated to working on your behalf, maintaining the strength and integrity of the CMCA credential and advancing the community association management profession.  Your commitment to your CMCA credential represents your commitment to your career, your peers, and your profession.

By Abby Wolfe of The Muse. Abby works in health education and prevention at a university in Washington, DC

When it comes to liking your job, the way you feel about your manager could be the deciding factor. In fact, according to a recent employee engagement survey , 50% of people who quit identify their boss as the reason they left.

This rings true for me. I’ve experienced both good and mediocre supervisors, as well as a few who made me want to rip my hair out. One created such misery that I was constantly devising my exit strategy.

But before you turn yours into a scapegoat for all that goes wrong in your life, hear this: Blaming everything on her may be more comfortable, but the real problem could actually be you. Yes— you.

You’re Assuming She Can Read Your Mind

Two years ago, my company’s senior vice president and I were discussing a rough patch my team was going through. Because we had a good rapport (most likely because he supplied our office with the very best snacks), he had no problem being straightforward.

“Look,” he said, “I can’t read your mind. I have no idea what you’re thinking. If you want something, you need to just say it .”

I’ve repeated this advice to myself and others many times since then because it’s so spot on.

Not only is your boss not a psychic (most likely), but she also isn’t sitting around all day attempting to decode your every move. Yes, part of her role is managing you, but she has other responsibilities, too.

If you need help, ask. If you’re feeling overwhelmed , tell her. ( This article lays out how to have that conversation.) If you’re disappointed she didn’t give you a promotion, discuss what you need to do to get one. Don’t wait for her to come to you about everything. You’ll just end up feeling frustrated and disgruntled. And nobody wants that.

You’re Not Keeping Her in the Loop

Shortly after starting a new position, my supervisor and I had an uncomfortable conversation. Another department’s director wasn’t thrilled with the quality of my work, and my manager wasn’t very happy.

After sharing my side of the story, her understanding and support were a relief. But, of course, my initial thought when she called was Wow, I can’t believe she’s coming at me like this.

But she’d felt blindsided. In our most recent one-on-one, I’d indicated that everything was “oh fine, just fine,” and then she heard something different. If you’re a team leader, it’s not fun when it appears as if your team isn’t up to snuff.

Imagine if, instead, I’d said, “I’m struggling with this,” or, “I just wanted to give you a heads up about [insert issue].” She would’ve felt much more prepared to field complaints, and we probably could’ve avoided our awkward phone call.

If you’re ever hesitant about bringing a potential (or definite) issue to light, just do it. It may not end up mattering, but if it does, it’s best to have it out in the open as early as possible.

Your Performance Isn’t Up to Par

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but if you’re dropping the ball, your boss probably won’t react very favorably.

She may lose confidence in you and not assign you to new projects. Or put you on a performance improvement plan. She may never give you a raise or a promotion. And hey, she may even demote you. ( Womp womp .)

None of these scenarios is preferable. Or joyful. And any of them may make you want to endlessly grumble about how utterly horrible she is.

But if you’re missing deadlines, half-assing your assignments, or goofing off all day, it isn’t her fault. It’s yours.

Try to view yourself (as an employee) objectively. Is there anything you could be doing better? Are there any areas requiring more effort or fine-tuning? If you improve what you can control, she may start to react more positively. And, alas, you may realize you don’t hate her so much after all.

You’re Letting Your Personal Feelings Get in the Way

The truth is, you just aren’t a big fan of her. Her laugh is too high-pitched, she always heats up fish in the microwave , and her communication style’s a little too blunt for you.

And because she’s not your cup of tea, every single thing she does is wrong. Even if it really isn’t. That email she sent to your colleague wasn’t actually a waste of time, you just thought it was because she sent it. Basically, you’re letting your personal feelings about her taint your opinions about her work.

You need to separate your feelings about her personality and mannerisms from the job at hand. Because while you may not want to hang out with her on the weekend or invite her to your birthday happy hour, that doesn’t mean she’s a bad manager . And until you remove that judgmental lens you’re viewing her through, you’re just sabotaging yourself.

The CMCA Challenge

When Kayte Comes, Executive Director of the CAI Central Arizona Chapter, took the leap to invest a significant amount of resources into a program to support and encourage community managers to earn the CMCA credential, she had no idea it would be so popular. So fast.

Comes developed the program, The CMCA Challenge, with an emphasis on meeting the specific needs of managers in her community.   Specifically, they targeted community managers who only held the local certification (the Certified Arizona Association Manager) and those community managers who lacked employer support to earn the CMCA credential.

“We really wanted to create a unique opportunity for candidates to attend a focused CMCA study session, conducted by highly qualified Central Arizona PCAM managers, culminating in candidates taking the CMCA exam that very same day,” said Comes. “It was also important to offer the study session and exam at an appealing price point.”

Comes and her team at the Central Arizona Chapter opened the registration process for The CMCA Challenge in September 2016 and within two days, the session was full with a total of 60 participants. The cost per participant was $50, including the exam fee.

Participants were given instructions to download the free CMCA Study Guide and to begin preparing, on their own, for the exam. They had three months to review the materials and familiarize themselves with the exam content. Comes and her team were in regular contact with the program participants, reminding and encouraging them to study and prepare to make the most out of that day. Then, on December 7, 2016 the group convened in Phoenix for a structured three-hour study session where they went through the practice exam, asked questions and shared different business scenarios. Following a one-hour break for lunch, the group took the two and a half hour CMCA examination.

The CMCA Challenge was intended for experienced community managers, but the requirements were simple. A candidate had to meet one of the following criteria:

• A candidate had to be a community manager for at least five years.
• A candidate must have successfully completed the M100 course.
• A candidate must hold the CAAM certification.

Said Comes, “We were thrilled to have a 91 percent pass rate which is the highest passing rate in the country for a group that size who took the exam.”

In addition to the interactive, in-person study session, Comes credits the success of the program to starting the process early – allowing three months of study and preparation with weekly reminders and words of encouragement.

The CMCA Challenge participant Doug Eagen, CMCA, shared this: “I was very happy to hear the news that I passed the CMCA Challenge! The support we received from the Chapter was unprecedented and I really appreciate them undertaking this CMCA Challenge event. I hope it will be duplicated in many other places.”

In a business driven by community, Comes noted, “We also reached out to the community and received incredible support from a number of organizations including Burg Simpson, Butler Hansen, PC, Desert Classic Landscaping, Goodman Law Group, KLWT, Metro Phoenix Bank, PPG Paints, Sherwin Williams and Father Daughter Reserve Studies.”

Comes hopes to make The CMCA Challenge an annual event.

The CAMICB Board of Commissioners approved a new continuing education policy for individuals seeking CMCA recertification. The policy is as follows:

CMCA recertification requires the completion of 16 hours of continuing education within a two-year certification period. Current CAMICB policy states credit hours may be earned only for education that meets either of the following criteria:

• It pertains to community association operations or management
• It contributes to the professional development of the CMCA

Further continuing education credit specifications include:

• Educational courses are offered by approved course providers.
• One half of the continuing education credits may be obtained through in-house training courses.
• Local law seminars and local college or university courses pertaining to accounting, business practices, computers, or foreign language will count toward the continuing education requirement
• Courses related to buying and selling real estate are not acceptable.
• Self-study credit must be pre-approved by CAMICB and is limited to no more than four hours every two years.
• Teaching a course related to community association management can qualify for credit.
• Publishing an article in a regional or national community association publication may qualify for credit.
• One hour of credit equals one hour attended.
• Credit for a course may only be submitted one time per recertification cycle.
• Online learning must be interactive. Interactive coursework is defined as requiring proof of participation.

The CAMICB Continuing Education Review Committee has reviewed and approved a list of coursework for CMCA recertification continuing education credit. This list can be found on our website.

Coursework approved by a state regulatory agency for manager licensing requirements will be approved for CMCA recertification continuing education credit. These states currently include: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Virginia.

Community association management company in-house training material must be reviewed and approved by the CAMICB Continuing Education Review Committee. Only one half or eight (8) continuing education credits may be obtained through pre-approved in-house training courses.

CMCA prerequisite coursework is also approved for continuing education. CMCAs may not use the coursework to meet both examination eligibility and continuing education requirements. For example, if a CMCA used CAI’s M100: The Essentials of Community Association Management as their prerequisite education to sit for the CMCA examination, they may not submit it for CMCA recertification continuing education credit.

Coursework which meets the standard criteria may be submitted for review and approval to CAMICB. If proposed coursework is judged to meet the criteria set forth, it will be approved for a two-year cycle.

Coursework which has been previously approved by CAMICB, may be re-submitted for staff approval in consecutive years, if the coursework has not been altered between years.

A CMCA may seek approval from CAMICB for a course not provided by a pre-approved course provider. CAMICB staff will review the learning objectives and credit allocation to determine eligibility. CAMICB staff may consult a member of the Continuing Education Review Committee when necessary.

The changes mostly pertain to the approval of coursework. Check to make sure your CE course providers have been approved by CAMICB by checking our online list. If they haven’t, send over the course info (I.e. learning objectives, outline, etc.) to our Recertification Associate, Rachel LaCroix at rlacroix@camicb.org. She will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

The Foundation for Community Association Research is launching the 2017 Community Manager Compensation and Benefits Survey and you’re invited to participate!

Conducted by independent research firm Industry Insights, Inc., this survey for managers and management company CEOs and executives is a valuable tool for benchmarking compensation levels in the community association industry.

Check your inbox for an email from Shawn Six (research@industryinsights.com), the CEO of Industry Insights, Inc., with your own unique link to the survey. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your spam folder or sign up here to complete the survey.

All participants will receive a personalized report comparing your responses to aggregate data from all respondents. You’ll also be entered into a drawing to win one of five Amazon Echo Dots!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Foundation’s Executive Director, Dave Jennings. His information is below.

Dave Jennings, CAE, SPHR, SHRM-SCP  (703) 970-9234 foundation@caionline.org

Thank you for your willingness to participate!

Time to cool down and make a splash! Summer means pool time for many community associations. Are your pool guidelines in line with the Fair Housing Act (FHA)? Check the FHA blog for specifics: https://blog.fairhousingact.org/illegal-pool-rules-under-the-fair-housing-act-familial-status-and-disability-discrimination-in-print-recognize-any-of-these/

Here is a list of some discriminatory Swimming Pool Rules the FHA warns about:

1. No children under 3 years of age allowed in the pool
2. No child under 18 without a relative over 21
3. No more than 2 children per adult allowed in the pool area
4. No Disabled person can use the hot tub without another nondisabled adult present for safety reasons
5. Disabled persons must use the shallow end of the pool only
6. Only toilet trained children are allowed in the pool area at any time
7. Any person wearing a diaper is not permitted in the pool at any time
8. Children under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult to use the pool at any time
9. Children under 6 years of age must use the kiddie pool
10. Children are not permitted to use the pool during Adult Swim times
11. Children can only use the NW pool; other pools are for adults only

Are We Friends?

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityAssociationManagers/ Get all the latest news and hilarious staff photos on our Facebook page.

Adapted from the Muse and Steve Errey

Summer is the time for vacations with the kids, family reunions and beach getaways. Coming back to the office can seem like a nightmare. Here are some tips to keep your sanity:

1. Clean Before You Go

Piles of folders, mail spilling out of your inbox, last week’s four used coffee cups, and who knows what in that bowl you forgot to wash. People think better in a clean space, so coming home to organization rather than chaos helps my thinking right from the off. Giving your workspace a once-over before you leave makes sure you can ease into a pleasant environment when you return.

2. Remember Resistance is Futile

The worst thing you can do is to resist your circumstances when you return home. The only cage is the one you perceive in your head, and resisting, struggling, and fighting against where you are is only going to make you feel worse and make that feel more real. In fact, it’s only by engaging with your environment that you get to enjoy it. So when you find yourself resisting work, meetings, or even heading to the office in the morning, make a conscious choice to throw yourself back in the game.

3. Find the Fun

Work, bills, squabbles, pressure, and routine. None of that sounds like a heap of fun, does it? There’s sometimes the sense that when you get home from vacation that the fun ends and you have to buckle back down to life and work. But to hell with that. Take a new class, get involved in a new project , make a new friend, head to a new spot on the weekend, laugh with your colleagues. Go where the fun is. It might even be better than your vacation.

4. Keep in Touch

When you visit friends on vacation, everyone says that they’ll have to keep in touch and that they have to do it more often, but then life gets in the way and that intention fizzles out. But if you’ve been visiting with friends and had a ball, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to stay in touch. Before you leave, get a Skype call on the calendar for every couple of months to catch up, laugh, and swap stories. It’ll keep that sense of energy going.

5. Change Things Up

Routine is familiar, safe, and comforting, but it’s also dull as dishwater sometimes. There might once have been good reason why you do things a certain way (the route you take to work, where you get lunch, who you talk with in the office, even how you get ready in the mornings), but that’s no reason why they have to stay that way. Take a new route to work, listen to an audiobook instead of the radio, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to stretch or meditate, go talk with a colleague instead of emailing, or look for a new way to manage your to-do list. Changing things up is how you keep things fresh.

6. Chuck it Out

I’ve emptied two chests of drawers, cleared out my desk, and binned most of the contents of my spare room since I got back home. All that stuff that’s accumulated over the last 15 years that I thought might come in handy one day? Gone.

There’s something liberating about chucking out old stuff that you’ll never need (and feel free to donate the good stuff or make a few extra bucks from eBay). It not only clears physical space that makes it easier to move and breathe, but getting rid of old baggage can free you up emotionally, too.

7. Remember How You Were

You felt pretty good on vacation, right? At ease. Free. Like you could just be you. Perhaps you felt like things were flowing, like you were slap-bang in the middle of a moment, and that was all you needed. Maybe you felt like the person you’d love to be more often—peaceful, buzzing, or alive.

How you are on vacation is typically how you are when you’re at your best. You let go of all the stuff that doesn’t matter and just are. The good news is, you can do that whenever and wherever—it just takes a little letting go.

Share your tips to surviving life after vacation below.

Your input is needed!

CAMICB has maintained two listservs for both CMCAs and CMCA exam candidates for almost 10 years. The listservs require you to subscribe and act as a discussion board. Recently, we’ve noticed a decline in activity. We want to know the best way to help you connect to your peers. Let us know! We’ve brainstormed some ideas:

• Monthly “Ask a CAMICB Subject Matter Expert”
• LinkedIn group for CMCA discussion
• Live webinars with Q&A for your peers
• Networking session for CMCAs at the CAI Annual Conference

We’re open to suggestions. CAMICB wants to create a space for dialogue, communication and networking. Tell us what you’d like in the comment section below.