How to Prepare for a Board Meeting
The best method to prepare is to ensure that your board meetings will be productive and effective. The preparation for a board meeting is not just about making sure that you have the proper room and equipment, but also ensuring that your entire team is equipped with the information they require to have a successful discussion.
Start by establishing the agenda. The date and time set well in advance gives your team time to mark their calendars and arrange for attendance. This also allows you to send out board materials in advance, so your board members have time to go over them prior to the meeting.
During this time, it’s helpful to consider what topics are most relevant and necessary to discuss. Also, you should consider what you would like to accomplish during the meeting, and include any milestones or actions to reach. This will help you decide the amount of time you should allocate for each item and help you keep your meetings focused and on the right track.
Create a rough schedule and communicate it to your board chair, executive team and any other members of your team. Often, new items will be proposed at this point, so it’s important to be flexible and realistic about how you deal with new ideas. If you don’t think any of the items are appropriate for the meeting, think about parking them or leaving them to another board meeting.
It’s crucial to have a system for recording and distributing the minutes. Boardable makes it simple to distribute minutes as soon as they’re ready. You can assign tasks to members of the board and monitor progress between meetings.
