Now that you’re finalizing the purchase of your mobile home park investment, you feel a little uneasy with the reality of a new adventure on the horizon. Mobile home park management – what is that going to look like for you? Where do you begin?
Everyone is different and every park needs to find its own style of mobile home park management.
Why is good management necessary?
A good management style is contingent on the way your park manager makes decisions. This will affect the management crew’s morale and the way they work.
It will also affect how your tenants feel in your park. If you use a management style that clashes with your park’s vibe and demographic, you’re going to be toast.
So while one style may work in a family park, another type may not work in a luxury park.
Figuring out your style of mobile home park management
Today we’re going to take a peek at some general categories of mobile home park management and discuss what each looks like. You’ll find a clearer picture on what direction you want to take management, even if you mix and match some of these categories.
Authoritative management
There’s no doubt that authoritative management comes with many pros and cons. But first, let’s define it.
This style of management comes with a very opinionated and direct manager. This manager makes his/her vision and directions clear. Managers of this kind are orderly and run a tight ship.
Negatively, authoritarian management pitfalls entail micromanagement. And the use of fear to garner support from their team.
As a result, employees under the authoritarian rule are less likely to offer new ideas and care about improving the place. They will do exactly what the manager asks them to do and no more. However, this management style has positive characteristics. Authoritative management often offers a very clear direction, motivating employees to perform their tasks.
But if the manager is not offering clear instruction, there will only be a frustration for the manager and his team. Your park tenants will feel this frustration too.
Consultative management
Here we have a management style that’s opposite to the authoritative style. In the consultative style of management, leadership bounces ideas off their management idea, before a decision is made. This engages the team, leading them to care about their manager. Additionally. it cultivates loyalty.
In many decisions, such a manager engages with the mobile home park community. He/she works to get a pulse on how the community feels about decisions that would affect them greatly. This leads to a greater sense of respect from tenants, even if the decisions made are not what they would have gone with.
That being said, the manager still makes the decisions. While other opinions are sought, ultimately the decisions lie in the hands of the manager. There is no power in the hands of those being consulted.
Extroverted management
Here we have a manager who relies on his or her personality to get the team together and working in harmony. While this manager has charisma, he or she also has a very generous spirit of support for others. Extroverted managers reinforce positivity with incentive and reward employees for their performance.
These managers aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and actively serve others around them.
Persuasive management
The persuasive manager is focused on making others see the good in his or her decisions. This manager works to inform and educate all, hoping to sell everyone on a plan.
This can be frustrating to the management team and park as communication is a one way street in this scenario. The boss made the decision and only cares to prove it to be the right one.
Democratic management
Next, we have democratic management. Decisions are made with the desires of the majority in mind. This may be a good idea in some situations, but to use it across the board may prove the death of your mobile home park.
Democratic management enables employees and tenants to feel more independent. We think this style would work best for some decision making processes, but not all.
Chaotic management
When it comes to chaotic mobile home park management, there is no managerial control over employees. They are left to themselves without any guidelines.
This can work on a project to project basis, but it can easily be recipe for disaster. People need leadership. Without leadership bringing everyone together, things can fall apart fast.
Laissez-faire management
With the laissez-faire management style, there’s more structure involved than in the chaotic style.
There is a manager involved, but he holds more of a mentor role. The management team makes decisions on running the park, but the manager checks up on the projects and monitors the progress. He/she provides feedback and helps the team stay on track.
Make it a great experience as well!
Whichever mobile home park management style you fall under or decide to adopt, it’s important to remember that you’re working with people. Think about the kind of manager your residents and your staff need and strive to become that. Lastly, don’t forget to sprinkle in kindness, respect, and a listening ear no matter which way you choose to shake things up in your managerial style.
Being a mobile home park manager can be a rewarding experience if you do things right!
About Dan Leighton
