Most people know that meetings of any kind can be unproductive, and unfortunately board meetings are no exception. In many cases, board meetings are even more unproductive than everyday office meetings. Why? We can point to any number of reasons: personality clashes between board members, high-stress topics, and organisational or community politics can cause no end of problems. But most unproductive board meetings (and board problems in general) are actually caused by structural choices or assumptions. This means that simple changes to basic aspects of your meetings, like timing and agenda structure, can shift a board meeting from unproductive to highly effective.
After all, the entire reason a board exists is to undertake strategic discussion and decision-making. If you’re not setting the board up for success at the most fundamental level by having the basics right, then you can’t expect quality outcomes that will contribute to a positive future for your organisation.
To read the Better Boards article in full, click here.