Preparation is the best way to ensure that your board meetings are productive and efficient. The preparation for a board meeting is not just about making sure that you have the right space and equipment, but that everyone on your team has the necessary knowledge to have a valuable discussion.
First, you must set the agenda. The date and time set in advance gives your team members time to mark their calendars, and board meeting preparation plan for attendance. This also allows you to mail out materials to board members in advance, so that your board members have time to go over them prior to the meeting.
It’s important to ask yourself, at this point, what subjects are the most important and important to discuss. You should also consider what you’d like to accomplish during the meeting. This includes any milestones and action items that must be met. This will help you decide the amount of time you’ll need to allot to each task, and keep your meeting focused and on the right path.
Create a rough plan and share it with your board chair, executive team and any other members of your team. It’s normal for new topics to be suggested at this point, which is why you must be flexible and realistic when you are balancing new items. If there are items that don’t appear appropriate to be discussed at the meeting, consider making them available for parking or even leaving them for another board meeting.
It’s important to have a system in place for recording and distributing minutes. Boardable makes it easy to distribute minutes once they’re ready. You can also assign board members tasks and track their progress throughout meetings.