If your board meetings don’t produce the results you desire it could be time to make changes. The good news is that increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of your board meetings isn’t difficult or time-consuming. The following steps can be carried out slowly over time and can have a dramatic effect on the overall quality of your meetings.
Begin by establishing a clear agenda and imposing time limits for each item. By setting a specific limit on the amount of time that each subject can be discussed, board members will be more inclined to keep their remarks short and concise. The addition of a timekeeper to the meeting could also help ensure that everyone adheres to these limitations.
Avoid topics in which only a handful of members of your board are experts. Think about having one-on-one conversations with each board member in between meetings to discuss topics that need more research or knowledge. This way, you can save valuable meeting time for subjects that require your board’s complete focus.
Many board members struggle with getting the meeting back on track once it has begun. A lot of discussion can diverge from the topic, particularly when board members are friends with each other through social media and are chatting about personal matters prior to the meeting’s start. Try to redirect the discussion back to the agenda item at hand and gently redirect members when they continue to diverge.
Your board meetings should be a place where you can discuss strategic and tactical decisions not just a space to report and update. With a little planning and a few minor changes, you could transform your board meetings into fun, productive events that are essential to your organization’s development and success.