Board meetings can be a great way to get everyone’s energy up and gain new insights from members with diverse backgrounds. To keep the momentum going, it takes more than just getting everyone in the same room.
Board members must believe that they are able to trust each other enough to be honest and ask hard questions. This can only happen if there is an atmosphere of openness and transparency. This is why it’s important to create a board culture which recognizes the importance of board meetings and strives to make them as productive as is possible.
The agenda of the board must make it clear to directors what they have to do to accomplish their goals. The agenda should be flexible enough to accommodate unexpected items or the necessity to change the order of items. The board should also be given the opportunity to discuss any new business issues.
A good chairperson for the board will not present reports when discussing new business. Instead, they should encourage discussion with the whole group. This is not just a way to save time, but also to create a positive working environment which the board can be able to ask difficult questions to the management.
Parking lots can be added to the agenda to allow for small, random discussions, but without distracting the important issues. Distractions from irrelevant discussions can consume the time at meetings and prevent board members from taking action.
