Meetings at the Board are essential to supporting company goals, preventing conflict and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. But they will only be successful when everyone is committed to fostering a constructive dialogue. Implementing these best practices will transform your Board meetings into powerful engines that will propel your organization towards its long-term goals and vision.
Establishing clear expectations and meeting protocols is the first step to running a well-run board meeting. It is important to clearly identify who is responsible for every item on the meeting agenda and ensure that all participants know what to expect.
By establishing and adhering to time limits for each item on the agenda, you’ll be in a position to maintain focus during the entire meeting. This lets attendees know that they are valued. It is a good idea to limit the number items on your agenda so that your board members have the time to discuss each item effectively. Things that aren’t controversial could be voted on via the consent agenda, which will free up more time for discussions on strategic issues (BoardEffect). Utilize visual tools such as countdown timers to adhere to your time frames particularly when discussing sensitive issues.
Being distracted by new discussion topics can distract from the goals of the meeting and lead to unneeded discussions. To prevent this from happening, add the word “parking lot” on the agenda for topics that require further investigation or thought but aren’t at the top of the list. Make sure to revisit the parking area to see what needs to be investigated further or added to the agenda or delegated as an assignment.
