The board meeting provides a great chance for your company’s boards to gain from the knowledge, perspective, and influence of Important People. If you let them be occupied with reading reports, filling out formalities and discussing procedural issues the board will leave the meeting with less than it could have.

The most effective board meetings include productive discussions and concrete action items. Follow these tips to help your meetings be more efficient.

Get a clear understanding of the schedules of your board members before your meeting. Use a tool like Doodle to find the most popular dates that are available on the calendars of your board members. Once you’ve identified the most appropriate time, call those who manage their schedules directly to confirm their availability.

The meeting will begin by providing an overview of the major issues and inputs requested. This will likely include recapping highlights from pre-meeting phone calls as well as the board’s package.

Give your committee heads and department heads time and space to discuss https://boardroomapp.org/5-tactics-that-will-make-your-executive-board-highly-effective-during-the-meeting/ important reports and updates. This will keep the board up-to-date and informed. Keep in mind that the board may have to revisit and discuss topics which were not addressed at the last meeting. It’s a good idea to assign a designated person from your team to follow-up on these items after the meeting. The board must also decide on the next steps that are important. This should be clearly recorded in the minutes. There should be the deadline and expectations for each item.