How to Keep Board Meetings Productive and Engaging

A board meeting is a top-level meeting for decision-making and discussion in an organization. These meetings are not just utilized to evaluate the past performance but also to approve future strategies and plans of action. These meetings are private and confidential or open to anyone who wants to observe, depending on the size of your company.

The agenda is usually created by the executive secretary or management assistant, who receives input from the chairman and CEO. It contains logistical information like the date, time and the location of the meeting. It also includes an overview of the previous minutes and the agenda items pending. It is important that board members read the minutes of the last meeting, and ratify them before taking up any new topics.

Reports that are too long as well as other routine items can drown a conference in details. To ensure that meetings are active and enjoyable Try to limit the amount of reports to not more than 25 percent of the total meeting time. The leaders and chairpersons of committees should be encouraged to provide a summary of the meeting prior to the meeting, rather than giving a lengthy report.

It’s also helpful to have a parking area at the end of your agenda for new discussion topics that do not fit into the top two priorities of the meeting. This will prevent you from being distracted, and waste time during the meeting. Concentrating on the most important issues will boost the results of every minute spent in the board Website meeting.