Effective Board Meetings
Effective Board Meetings can help businesses achieve their goals by bringing in experts, encouraging collaboration, and facilitating decisions. To run effective meetings, Board members must prioritise time management and an outlook that is focused on the future. Board members also need to be aware of how meeting length, design and rules affect their effectiveness.
Meetings that are too long, disorganized or confusing can eat up time. This is usually due to a lack of preparation or inadequate support from the executive team. Board members may be unaware of their duties and may be dissuaded from taking part in discussions that don’t relate to the agenda. However, a board meeting that is concluded too early may indicate that the board has become a rubber stamper and is not questioning any decisions made.
Board meetings should have a clear agenda that is communicated well prior to the meeting. The agenda should outline the major points of discussion for each board member as well as the focus of the meeting. The chair of the board should facilitate the meeting and steer the discussion to ensure that all relevant topics are discussed within the appropriate time duration.
A productive Board meeting usually ends with a list of to-do’s and actions that must be completed prior to the next one. This can include preparing for the meeting by reviewing materials, analyzing topics and preparing thoughtful questions or ideas. The board should also foster a culture of accountability among its members by ensuring they follow up on any action items or decisions from previous meetings.