Board meetings are essential for reaching company goals, avoiding conflicts and making sure that compliance is maintained. But they can only be productive if everyone in the room is involved and committed to encouraging constructive dialogue. Implementing these best practices will transform your Board meetings to dynamic engines that will propel your organization towards its long-term goals and vision.
Setting clear expectations and meeting rules is the first step towards running a well-run board meeting. It is important to establish who is responsible for every item on the meeting agenda and ensure that all attendees know what to expect.
The process of setting and observing timeframes for each agenda item can help keep the focus of the meeting. It also shows attendees that their time is important. Limit the amount of agenda items to ensure that your board members have the ability to debate each item in a productive manner. Voting on non-controversial matters can be conducted through a consent agenda, which frees the time to discuss important issues. Use visual tools such as countdown timers to adhere to the time frames you have set particularly when discussing sensitive topics.
Getting sidetracked by new topics for discussion can divert attention from the goals of the meeting and lead to unneeded discussions. To prevent this from happening, add a “parking lot” on the agenda for issues that require further investigation or thought, but are not at the top of the list. Regularly revisit the parking area to determine what should be added to the agenda, investigated further or delegated.