Avoid These Mistakes When Designing Your Board Meeting Agenda
An organized agenda is vital for efficient meetings. But an agenda on its own does not guarantee productive discussions or decisions. In order to achieve the desired results board members must be aware of the common mistakes that hinder the effectiveness of meetings and act to avoid them.
A lot of topics scheduled for discussion can lead to rushed discussion and a lack of time is given for each item. Prioritize items according to the urgency and importance. It is also possible to consider moving certain topics to future meetings of the board or committee to have a more extensive discussion.
Set time limits for each item on the agenda. This will allow your board to stay on track and ensure that every issue is given proper consideration. Be realistic with your time estimates and look at your past experience of meetings that ran on time to determine what’s feasible in a single meeting.
Share the board meeting agenda a few days, or at least 24 hours before the meeting. This gives board members the chance to review relevant documents before the meeting. Some organizations also provide an entry sheet for sign-in to verify the attendance of each participant.
It is important to define clearly how decisions will be made on each item on the agenda, such as by consensus or voting. This will reduce confusion and miscommunication during the discussion. If there is a controversy or a hot issue be sure to state that the board will be voting unanimously instead of having split votes.