A friend of a property manager of a New York co-op recently remarked that “Superman has finally met his match” when a task came in that seemed to have the effect of kryptonite and slowed him  down—for a moment at least.  

 With managers constantly being faced with issue upon issue and people coming at  them at all directions with emails, phone calls and complaints, it’s not an unfair analogy. A manager is something of a superhero at the end of the  day.  

 A managing agent or property manager touches every aspect of a community,  whether it is on a personal level or a professional level. It is both constant  with day-to-day operations and filled with unexpected issues that arise and  become a priority. “Every day varies. There is an unrecognized complexity to our job,” says Georgia Lombardo-Barton, president of Barton Management LLC. “Talented managers possess a diverse background in accounting, finance, project  management as well as a more simplistic ability needed to handle people and  resolve problems. It’s not a single-dimensional job description.”  

 No matter what the size of their portfolio, a manager must wear a great many  professional hats: human resources pro, administrator, mediator, organizer,  social director, project manager, sounding board—sometimes even therapist. An on-site manager has more than his or her share of  responsibilities.  

 “One thing we deal with is that everyone feels their problem is important and  they should be first,” says Stephen Elbaz, president of Esquire Management Corporation. “It’s really no different than how a doctor treats the emergency room; the cardiac  arrest will always be treated first, yet everyone wants an instant, right away  response.”