A board meeting agenda is a guide to help keep your meetings on the right track and productive. It is essential to choose substance over style when it comes to maximising the amount of time your board members must collaborate.
Start your meeting with an official call to order, followed by an introduction by the facilitator or board chair. You may then proceed to approve the previous meeting’s minutes or the financial report. You could also review the latest committee reports or perform administrative tasks. It’s a good idea, next, to reserve a section of the meeting for discussions about strategic planning and other governance matters. You could also consider having an executive session on sensitive or confidential issues if that is permitted by the bylaws of your company and any applicable laws.
Take your time and listen carefully at every point. You should raise any concerns or questions you may have about the presentation and allow your fellow board members to respond. Be aware not to get side-tracked and begin to discuss discussion issues that aren’t on the agenda. This can eat up valuable meeting time and distract from the most important items on your agenda. To avoid this, you can add a “parking lot” item at the end of the agenda, to promote random topics that require more focus at a later time.
Last but not least, ensure that you send your board the agenda at least a week prior to the meeting. This allows everyone time to review the items and prepare their thoughts for the meeting. It’s a good idea to include any supporting documents required by board members to understand the subject.
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