A successful board meeting is an essential part of good governance. The Board of Directors meets to discuss and make decisions on important company matters, ensuring the organisation is heading in the right directions. It can be difficult but Get the facts there are easy guidelines to follow that will enable you to conduct productive meetings and make the right decisions.
Preparing well in advance and sharing the agenda for the meeting with all members ahead of time is essential. A clear agenda will define the most important topics and allocate appropriate amounts of time for each discussion. This will prevent meetings from drifting off-topic, becoming a slog with repetition, or becoming a forum for only one or two people to contribute, instead of an inclusive discussion among the all members of the Board.
Prioritize two important issues that must be addressed at each meeting. This is a best practice that helps concentrate the discussion and reduce the amount of items to be reviewed during the meeting. It also allows time for a discussion and decision to be taken on each issue, instead of just updates. Updates can be easily shared via the board book, and a small amount of time for updates can be allocated to them during the meeting itself.
Communicate clearly how decisions will be made. Doing so ensures that everyone is aware of the process of making decisions and will be on the same team when it comes to resolving disagreements and reaching consensus. It also establishes expectations for the kind of discussion that will be held at the meeting, such as finding common ground, discussing all viewpoints, or resolving disagreements through a vote process.