Board meetings can be a useful source of information for your organization. They can aid in making decisions faster improve productivity and time management skills, improve collaboration and help bring your business closer to its goals.
But, they can be long and confusing. Many boards lack the right arrangement or agenda for their board meetings.
A crucial aspect of a successful board meeting is having an agenda that clearly spells out the planned content of the meeting and includes all necessary documentation in advance of the session. It is important to limit the number of agenda items and avoid reusing items from one meeting to the next.
Make sure to focus on issues and problems of a strategic nature, rather than ones which are purely operational. This will draw out board members’ various abilities and interests, helping you to draw on the full potential of their energy to engage in discussions.
The board should have the opportunity to discuss and vote on strategies that will move your organization closer to its objectives including defining and discussing specific metrics to measure progress. This can be accomplished by assigning a “KPI” to every strategy. For instance, the retention rate of donors or clients as well as the amount of revenue generated. Concentrating these discussions on the most important issues for your organization can maximize the value of every board meeting.