A successful board meeting is an essential element of a successful governance. The Board of Directors meets to discuss and decide on crucial company matters, ensuring the organisation is moving in the right direction. It may be difficult but there are simple guidelines to follow that will help you have productive meetings and make the right decisions.
Making sure you are prepared in advance and sharing the agenda with everyone prior to time is essential. An organized agenda will outline the most important issues effective board meeting to be discussed and will allocate a reasonable amount of time for each discussion. This will prevent meetings from being off-topic, getting stagnant or becoming an exclusive meeting for a handful of people to speak instead of an open dialogue with the entire Board.
Prioritize two crucial issues that must be addressed at each meeting. This is a method that helps to narrow the discussion and limit the number items to be reviewed during the meeting. This allows for more time to be spent on each issue, and the decision to be made, as opposed to just sharing updates. Updates can be easily shared using the board book, and only a specific amount of time for updates can be devoted to them during the meeting itself.
Be clear about the process for making decisions. By doing this, you can ensure that all members are aware of the process of making decisions and be on the same level when it comes down to resolving disagreements and achieving consensus. It also sets expectations regarding the type of discussion to be held at the meeting, which includes finding common ground, discussing all perspectives, or resolving disagreements by a vote.