Ten Proven Ideas for Better Board Meetings
Approximately 11 million meetings happen in the United States each day. American professionals can expect to attend 61.8 meetings per month on average. Effective Meetings (effectivemeetings.com) reports that 50 percent of the time spent in meetings is wasted. The following tips can help you conduct a more effective board meeting.
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#1
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Research the topics that should be included in the agenda and sequence them to create an effective flow. Set a goal to discuss six to eight agenda topics per meeting. Assign a particular amount of time to each topic to ensure the meeting does not run too long. If a topic requires more time, you can always amend the agenda during the meeting or schedule a follow-up meeting.
#2
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Focus on topics that affect people in the meeting. If the issues involve only a few of the board meeting members, schedule a separate meeting with those particular members.
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#3
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Send out board materials well in advance of a meeting so that all of the members have ample time to review the agenda, notes and data.
#4
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Start and end the meeting on time. Employees schedule their days around meeting times, and one meeting running over can cause a chain effect throughout the remainder of the day. Additionally, people may start to watch the clock instead of paying attention to the meeting if it starts late or runs over.
#5
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Provide coffee and water at a minimum, especially if the board meeting is in the early morning. CBS News reports that more than 50 percent of Americans drink coffee every day. Consider snacks or a meal if the board meeting is lengthy, or it it meets during a mealtime.
#6
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Schedule a meeting for no more than two hours without a break. If you are serving drinks and refreshments, plan for a break once every hour. A monthly meeting should never last more than two hours.
#7
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Remain focused on high-level issues, and do not get lost in the details. Someone in the room should be in charge of keeping the board focused on the topics listed in the agenda.
#8
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Avoid delivering bad news in a board meeting. Bosses may not appreciate hearing bad news in front of several people. Tell them bad news in a more private manner so they have time to prepare their reaction.
#9
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Encourage discussion in the board meeting and make sure that everyone has the opportunity to speak. If you are making important decisions, "parliamentary procedures," or "rules of order," allow everyone a chance to speak formally before the voting process begins.
#10
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Take notes and follow up on all of the issues that come up in the board meeting. Include appropriate follow-up information in the next meeting's agenda.
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References
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