How to Improve Your Board of Directors Meetings
A board of directors is an excellent method to ensure that your company is properly managed and decisions taken in a fair, transparent manner. To be effective, the board should have all members actively involved and present at every meeting. A lack of attendance to board governance calls meetings leads to a loss of productivity and contributes to the decline of effective leadership. Here are some suggestions to improve your board meetings.
Plan ahead: Make sure that the board members have been provided with pertinent documents, such as financial statements, reports and background material in advance of the meeting. This will ensure that they are prepared with well-thought-out questions. The early delivery of information gives board members an opportunity to check their schedules and make sure they’re available to attend.
Start your meeting promptly. Call the meeting to begin and confirm the quorum. This will demonstrate that the board values everyone’s valuable time.
Create a clear process for making decisions: Having a clear decision-making process keeps the discussion on track and avoids tangents that can distract or cause confusion in the meeting.
Encourage active participation. It isn’t easy to create a space in which everyone feels comfortable sharing thoughts and insights. Chairpersons can play a major role in encouraging participation by soliciting input from both sides and encouraging an open and balanced discussion. They can also establish ground rules for discussion, in order to encourage short remarks and equal time for all participants.
