“Most Impactful outcomes are a result of simple actions performed consistently.”

During professional engagements with some of the world's largest organisations, I have observed that the most common challenge they often face is their inability to accomplish simple things due to organisational or environmental complexities. Navigating these complexities increases the burden on organisational resources. It can also, potentially, dilute the focus and efforts away from actual goals and objectives.

When I was given the responsibility to lead Community Associations Institute Middle East Chapter last December, the board and myself had in front of us a long list of items. The industry was, and still is, going through a period of rapid and fundamental changes. Lack of clarity, a struggle to understand and adapt to new processes,  and dealing with the consequences of a global pandemic of historic magnitude were some of the key obstacles. There was a lot to process and do.

We focused only on one simple thing, that would cascade into something big, meaningful, and make room for other items to fall in place. It was engaging the small member family we had, giving them room to participate, experiment, and grow. We gave support and freedom to our events committee to engage the chapter through regular social and educational events. It worked like magic. It helped us to connect with members, the members then promoted our events on social media, which then had a snowball effect. As a result, we received more corporate sponsors not just from Dubai, but also from Saudi Arabia. Our membership numbers doubled, and we were able to foster a relationship with all stake holders including the Dubai Land Department.

Every month the chapter organised an educational event which was followed by a social evening. We invited experts to educate members on various subjects of importance such as Sustainability, Well Being, Personal Development and Leadership. We concluded our events Calendar with the Chapter's first ever Annual Dinner and Awards Night where we recognized all the speakers and our most passionate and hardworking volunteers.

The event was attended by dignitaries from Dubai Land Department, Community Associations Institute US, Institute of Real Estate Management US, Real Estate Leaders from Spain, Columbia, Bogota, American Business Council (AmCham) Dubai, and our amazing chapter members.

The CAIME Chapter is now all set to play a greater and more important role next year in the development of the community management industry through training and establishing best practices to support the vision and mission of Dubai Land Department and cater to the needs of the wider region.

A pivotal role in all this has been the excellent support of Dubai Association Centre, which is the only licensing body in the region that allows professional bodies such as CAIME to operate and benefit from the world class facilities and connections of Dubai Chamber.

The chapter is only set to grow from strength to strength in 2023.

About Community Associations Institute Middle East: Established in 2017 as a chapter of Community Associations Institute, a global non-profit organisation with over 43,000 members and 63 chapters worldwide. CAI provides information, education and resources to the homeowner volunteers who govern communities and the professionals who support them. CAIME is registered with Dubai Association Centre, the official registrar of Professional Associations in Dubai, under the patronage of Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

This article was authored by Waqar Hasan, CEO of Itihad Community Management as part of the 'Expert Talk' series. Hasan is the 2022 President of Community Associations Institute Middle East Chapter (CAIME), and author of the book ‘A Practical Guide to Community Management in Dubai'. CMtoday’s ‘Expert Talk’ series carries knowledge pieces every week by industry professionals who give their take on the key trends, observations, issues, and challenges in the built environment. The opinions in these articles are the author's own and do not reflect that of CMtoday. This is a standard disclaimer.