Keynote Session: Empathy – Leading with The Head and the Heart
Presented by Robert Schindler, Professor, Rutgers University School of Business, Professional and Executive Education

In our waking minds, there are two functions running simultaneously – one is logical and rational (“head”) and the other is feeling-related and behaves according to rules of its own (“heart”). A bias toward the head (the rationalist bias) is deep in modern human society and, implicitly, in the workplace. This bias limits the ability of individuals to form high performing teams. In this workshop, we practice techniques for enhancing empathy, using powerful language to communicate with internal and external stakeholders, and opening the “heart” to others’ ways of doing things, leading to increased employee engagement and value that your employees can deliver in your organizations.

• How to listen effectively, being sensitive to nonverbal cues, ways to draw people out
• Recognizing the underlying similarities of all people to help you know yourself and be authentic in your interactions with others
• Being gracious in your responses to people, showing appreciation, giving praise, apologizing, keeping in mind that the words you use matter
  Achieving patience and the role of embodiment and deep acting in workplace behavior
• Playing “the believing game” as a means of seeing the value in the ways of others

Team Building – Am I a Leader or a Follower? Qualities of Both ... and That’s OK!
Presented by Ginger Jarrett , Rutgers University School of Business, Professional and Executive Education

What is the difference between managing and leading stakeholders in your work? Sometimes it means “leading” and other times, it means “following.” To do so effectively, you’ll want to be aware of your mindset and make choices in the moment to “Change Hats” as you navigate any given situation. Practicing select behaviors will reinforce which role you are adopting, so that you form habits that come as second nature. This includes the words you use/don’t use and how you demonstrate the role without explicitly disclosing it. Using a four-step process to carry out the role needed for the situation will help you adopt a mindset, adjust behaviors in the moment, move forward, act as a role model to others, and collaborate effectively. In this breakout session, you will:

• Differentiate between leading, managing, and following
• Learn the most important qualities and conditions for each role
• Become more aware of your current leadership style and its impact
• Identify conditions that are best served by following
• Identify a few behavioral changes on your part that will facilitate cooperation from others and a more empowered and engaged work environment

Turbulent Economy: Financial Budgeting amid Rising Costs and Regulations
Presented by Eric Collins, PE, Becht Engineering, & Jared Tunnel, CommonArea Financial / confirmed

Navigating today's turbulent economy requires broad financial understanding. With costs on the rise and increasing regulatory complexities, managers face greater challenges planning their budgets. Effective budgeting is crucial for targeting financial stability while mitigating and managing risks. Walk away from this session with the core underlying reasons and drivers behind today’s economy and gain strategies to apply to your budgeting process.

The First 100 Days: Onboarding, Training and Retention
Presented by: Laena Capps, Capital Services

Onboarding new managers and other staff is a critical process to ensure appropriate training as well as employee retention. This session will present tips and strategies for a robust onboarding, training and employee retention program. 

The State of the Community Management Industry: A 360-Degree View
Presented by Mike McGee, Senior HOA Market Strategist, HomeWiseDocs

Using the extensive industry research and survey responses from over 1,100 association management professionals included in HomeWiseDocs’ newly published report, “The 2024 Community Association Management Industry Report,” this session will explore how community association management companies can accomplish growth in the smartest ways possible while showing their value to their customers. Attendees will get an exclusive look at the needs of association boards and advice for what they can do to stay on top of their game.

The session will cover a multitude of topics from the report, including:

• Growth – Our research has shown us that portfolio growth is the #1 priority for community association management companies in 2024. We will discuss opportunities to attract new associations and keep the ones you have.
• Competition – Competition is growing—and board members' expectations are higher than ever. We'll reveal association boards' top pain points and discuss how CAMs can address them to both keep and win new business.
• Staffing – As the labor shortage continues, finding high-quality staff is harder to come by and associations are getting creative to fill the gaps.
• Technology – Thankfully, technology can help. We will show how increasing efficiency is key to clearing a path for revenue growth.

State of the Industry and Federal Legislative Update from CAI
Presenter: Dawn Bauman, CAE, Chief Strategy Officer, Community Associations Institute

Learn about contemporary issues facing management company executives and get the latest on what's going on with efforts to delay or repeal the Corporate Transparency Act and other Federal issues impacting community associations.

Creating Space - The Fine Art of Leadership, Management & Life
Presented by Tom Willis, PCAM, Association Bridge, LLC

Tune in to this exciting session and hear a passionate appeal to take a hard look at how we lead, manage, and think, and make adjustments that can change the game for ourselves and our organizations. This session will leave attendees with helpful strategies to accomplish the following:

• Help managers and leaders see things with a fresh set of eyes
• Energize and equip all of us in the community association industry to continue to do the hard work at hand

Artificial Intelligence for Community Management
Presenters
Chris Maus, President & Managing Partner, CAMCO Management, BD Snow, Director of Sales Engineering, Vantaca and Shea Dittrich, Chief Revenue Officer, CINC Systems

AI is here to stay and some management companies are already adopting it. This session will explore various facets of artificial intelligence use in the field of community association management, including:

• Quality inputs lead to quality outputs – How are organizations approaching and maintaining their data integrity ahead of launching AI tools that draw from that data
• Prompt Engineering – Learning how to ask the right questions
• Large Language Models vs Large Action Models