Planning a board-level meeting that’s efficient and dynamic requires planning. You need to get all the appropriate people in the room at the right moment, make sure you distribute timely copies of agendas and other documents and set a reasonable amount of time for meetings, and ensure that everyone have access to the necessary resources.
To accomplish these goals, you will need to plan your meeting carefully. This means deciding on the best time and date that is compatible with all members and their calendars. After that, you’ll need to send out a formal meeting invitation together with the book for the board, a document that includes all of the information and reports that your members require for each item on the agenda. The board book can be delivered at least a few days prior the meeting to ensure that members can read it ahead of time and feel prepared for the discussion.
Idealy you should limit the meeting to just two and a quarter hours. This will show your board members that you value their time and prioritise efficient, effective discussions. It also helps keep them focused throughout the meeting which can be challenging when topics are taking longer than anticipated or when the board is discussing unplanned items.
The agenda should be adhered to. This is another method to keep the meeting lively. It’s a pain for everyone involved to work hard on preparing for the meeting only to see it diverge from its original themes. This could be due poor planning, off topic discussions or a dominant person.