Meetings of the board are crucial for the achievement of company goals, as well as preventing conflicts and ensuring compliance. However, they can only be successful when everyone is committed to maintaining constructive dialogue. By applying these best practices you can turn your Board meetings into powerful engines that drive your business towards its long-term vision and goals.
Setting clear expectations and meeting protocols is the first step towards conducting a well-organized board meeting. It is crucial to clearly identify who is responsible for every item on the meeting agenda and ensure that all attendees are aware of what they can expect.
Setting and adhering to timeframes for each agenda item helps to keep the focus of the meeting. This helps attendees feel that they are valued. Limit the amount of agenda items to ensure that your board members have the ability to discuss each item effectively. Items that are not controversial can be voted upon via a the consent agenda to allow more time to discuss strategic issues (BoardEffect). Use visual tools like countdown timers to keep track of your time, especially when dealing with sensitive topics.
Discussions that are tangled can lead to unnecessarily long meetings and distract from meeting goals. Include the word “parking area” on the agenda, to include topics which require further investigation or consideration but aren’t the top of your priority list. Make sure to revisit the parking lot to assess what needs to be investigated further, added to the agenda or delegated as the task.