If you want to successfully reach your annual target and beyond, as well as to make sure that every aspect of the organisation is being successfully developed and managed, you need to have your board meetings as effective as possible. So, here are a few tips that will help you do that!

Planning the Meetings in Advance

One of the important things you need to do is plan your meetings well in advance. Write a clear and comprehensive agenda and send it, along with all the hand-outs, resources and materials, at least a week earlier so that your board members will have the time to read everything through and prepare for the meeting. Also, if you need other people who are not on the board to attend – specialists, experts, benefactors – send the invitations as soon as possible to give them the opportunity to plan their own schedule. Prior to the meeting, it is worth experimenting with the seating arrangements in the room – for example, a round table is known to encourage discussion and participation as it conveys a message of equality, while a classic square table with a designated seat for the leader gives power to whoever occupies it.

Proper Organisation of the Meetings

A proper organisation is essential for your board meetings. To avoid turning them into a chaos, consider appointing a time-keeper to stay on time, and perhaps someone responsible for making sure everyone stays on the relevant topic. All this will ensure that you will be able to pay attention to all the points in the agenda and none will be neglected or left for the following meeting (which would make it impossible to discuss everything again and so on). Also, make sure that you encourage everyone to take part in the discussion and that all the board members are respectful to each other, listen without interruption and don’t bully or mock those with less popular opinions.

Evaluation

The end of the board meeting doesn’t mean that there is nothing more to do. Afterwards, make sure you evaluate the work of the board and the members, the organisation, the planning, the methods for problem-solving and everything else related to this particular meeting. Spend some time to do that and, if possible, ask for the opinion of other board members, because this will show you where there is room for improvement. In order to have 100% effective board meetings, you will need to identify and solve the issues your current meetings have, and this is only possible through evaluation.

Some of the things mentioned above may seem really basic and even surprise you if you have never experienced them at your board meetings. In such case – keep your eyes open and if you detect any – do not tolerate them, as they will certainly result in a waste of time and may have serious consequences for your organisation. Indeed, a successful and effective board meeting requires a lot of effort, but the resulting processes of decision-making, problem-solving and initiative are worth it.