The way your board conducts its meetings plays a crucial part in the efficiency and productivity of your board. To maximize the impact of each meeting, establish and maintain clear guidelines and procedures making sure that all board members know what is expected from them. This includes establishing clear rules for decision-making, adhering to the guidelines for voting and clearly documenting the outcomes of meetings with accurate minutes.
An agenda that is well-written is the first step toward successful board meetings. Set time limits for each agenda item, and think about using visual tools such as countdown timers to enable everyone to manage their time efficiently. Don’t bore your board members with long reports and updates. Instead, put the most important topics at the top of the agenda.
Clearly communicate how your board decides Consensus-based meetings are best however, it’s also ok to have a formal vote process when it is necessary. Either way, make sure everyone is aware of the process used to make decisions before each meeting so that there aren’t any surprises.
The precise minutes are an essential element to the success of any board meeting and a good board secretary is vital. You must ensure that the person responsible for taking minutes has boardroomate.com/best-ways-to-conduct-your-board-meetings-like-the-pros/ adequate training and is a dedicated member of the board of directors. Make sure that the secretary of the board takes notes on all pertinent topics including important information from officer and committee reports. Then, you must accurately and promptly review all decisions taken at the meeting and assign responsibility to follow-up and action items.