Board meetings got you down? Bored to tears by your committee meetings? Social gatherings leaving something to be desired?

Meetings for the sake of meetings make no sense, however, board meetings are a place for critical decisions and governance oversight. Too many board meetings are lacking in great facilitation, running on too long, or even getting completely off track.

A handful of small tips can make a huge difference in reaching your agenda goals, as well as in making your meetings actually enjoyable.

  1. Take time to prepare and plan: Having preparatory conversations with individuals before a board meeting can help save time from reporting out or following tangents that can derail the meeting.
  2. Design a consent agenda: Collecting and compiling the reports a week in advance of the meeting from staff and committee chairs will help the board chair and ED to create a consent agenda that is informed by the work being done.
  3. Rotate responsibilities: It depends on your organization’s bylaws, but, for most boards, there are no hard and fast rules about who needs to play these roles.
  4. Stay on time: Start on time, end on time. Speak directly with individuals about any problem with their attendance or preparation for meetings.
  5. Encourage differing opinions: Conflict is a great way to get to creative solutions.

Read the full article on board meetings by Emily Davis at BoardSource.