Board meetings are a great way to generate energy and allow members with different backgrounds to share innovative ideas. However, maintaining the momentum is more than getting everyone in the same room together.
Board members must feel they are able to trust each other enough to be honest and ask tough questions. This is only possible more tips here through an atmosphere of transparency and openness. This is why it’s crucial to create a board environment that is committed to the importance of board meetings and works to make them as productive as they can.
The agenda of the board must clearly communicate to directors what they have to do to reach their goals. The agenda should be flexible enough to accommodate any unexpected events or the need to change the order of items. In addition, the board should be given a chance to discuss new business items.
A good chairperson for the board will not present reports when discussing new business. Instead, they will encourage discussion among the entire group. This will not only help save time but it will help engender a positive atmosphere in which the board can ask tough questions of management.
A parking lot can be added to the agenda to allow small, random topics, but without distracting the important issues. Distractions from irrelevant discussions can eat up the time for meetings and stop board members from taking action.