The document provides 10 tips for successful board meetings. Tip 1 advises creating a timely and balanced agenda that looks beyond just copying the previous meeting's agenda. Tip 2 recommends using a consent agenda but not abusing it by allowing members to pull items for discussion. Tip 3 stresses the importance of preparation, especially from the chair and secretary, to ensure members are ready. The tips continue advising on executive committees, taking meeting records, engaging at-large members, thinking toward the future, making personal connections, limiting social events, and maintaining perspective during disagreements. In conclusion, the document emphasizes that engagement of members is key to strong and successful board meetings.

1. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
10 Tips for a Successful
Board Meeting

2. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 1: Productive Agenda: Timely and
balanced
 Use this tip to look beyond the obvious. Copying and pasting an agenda
from the prior meeting and making a few additions and deletions is a
time-saver, but it’s also one that can carry some risk if you get into the
habit of not reviewing the agenda, line by line. The biggest risk in
forming a hastily planned agenda is overlooking critical topics.
 Balance the agenda by mixing some of the heavier items with lighter
topics. If you know that a topic is going to be heavy or laden with
controversy, mix it up with some breaks or follow it with something
more pleasant. Improve the mood with a short team-building exercise
or share some uplifting news.

3. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 2: Consent Agenda: Use it but don’t abuse
it
 A consent agenda is a useful tool for addressing routine
items, but some of them may require vetting and
discussion. The board should have the chance to discuss
and review every item on the agenda. The secretary and
the board chair should review all agenda items to be sure
they are current and each is given the priority it requires.
Make sure board members get materials for items on the
consent agenda ahead of time. Allow members to pull an
item out of the consent agenda if they wish to discuss it.

4. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 3: Preparation is Key: All eyes on the
chair and secretary
 In the eyes of the board members, if the secretary and
chair don’t put in the time to adequately prepare for the
board meeting by getting materials to them early, it sets
the stage for the rest of the board to do just as little. In
fact, they may not bother to show up at all. Another
misstep is to surprise board members with a lengthy
proposal or controversial item that they were not prepared
for. Boards do their best work when they’ve had time to
mentally and emotionally prepare for whatever the agenda
holds.

5. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 4: Executive Committee: In session
 The executive committee handles all matters that
occur in between board meetings and also acts as
a steering committee. During these meetings, the
CEO also has the opportunity to have candid
discussions with the executive committee about
sensitive matters. The popularity of technological
tools like email, teleconferencing, and
videoconferencing has made these meetings far
easier. Technology has also made it easier for to
keep executive committee meeting attendance
high.

6. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 5: Taking a Record of the Board Meeting
 Technology is a handy communication tool when it works and the
facilitator knows how to use it. Here are a few of the things that can
go wrong:
– On a webinar, you can hear the host, but can’t see the slides, or vice versa
– On a teleconference you can hear someone’s dog barking or others talking but
not the presenter
– A member of a teleconference puts the phone line on hold and the hold music
distracts from the presenter
– On a videoconference, you can see the other party, but you can’t hear them
 Every meeting should have someone on hand who can solve any
technical difficulties. When a member doesn’t get to participate, it’s
frustrating for the member and the chair.

7. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 6: At-Large Members: Give them a job
 A few board members will join the board with full knowledge of what is
expected of them and how they want to contribute to the board. These
are the board members who always read the pre-meeting materials.
Those aren’t the ones you need to worry about. It’s the ones who don’t
speak up at meetings, aren’t active on committees, and don’t
participate. The chair should find a job for them or put them on at
least one committee. If they are just not good at speaking up, the
board chair may speak with the member one on one, and either mentor
the member or assign a mentor to that member to incite some
motivation. If the member still fails to get involved, it might be
appropriate to let the member’s term expire.

8. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 7: Be Forward Thinking: Don’t Look Back
 It’s a great morale booster to call the board
members’ attention to past successes, but
repeating past work won’t necessarily move the
organization forward. Get the members thinking
outside the box and into the future. Do some
brainstorming with the board to try to forecast
how today’s decisions will affect tomorrow’s
organization.

9. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 8: Make a Connection: It’s personal
 The board members are often somewhat removed from how their
decisions affect employees, their families, or other people and
organizations that are related to the board’s work. Give the board a
break from their hard work long enough to see some of their work in
action. Show a slide show of how their decisions have helped others or
grown the company profitably. Give them a tour of a new facility to
show that what they do makes a difference. It could be something as
simple as sharing a 10-minute, personal story. Helping board members
draw a closer connection to their work just might recharge and
motivate the most bored or frustrated board member.

10. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 9: Social Events: One is fun
 Most board members know that social events can be a
great way to network with others and get to know
about other facets of the organization or those they do
business with. It’s fairly safe to say that if someone
serves on a board, they are busy with other things as
well. Busy people can get burned out quickly, so unless
there is an express purpose for requiring members to
attend an event, it’s best to limit them in number.

11. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
Tip 10: Don’t Lose Hope: Just give it scope
 A board meeting where there is controversy and
disagreement among members isn’t fun for anyone. Try to
remember that a diversified board with differing
perspectives was planned by design, in order to take
advantage of a wide variety of perspectives. The
culmination of those perspectives is what drives important
work forward. Step back, give it scope. Separate your own
perspective (or the perspectives of a minority opinion) by
re-framing it against the bigger picture.

12. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC
In Conclusion
 A common thread runs through all ten tips—
engagement. Engagement can mean to attract
someone’s attention or to encourage them to
participate. When the board chair or meeting
facilitator makes board member engagement a
priority, board members become motivated. Motivated
members are the nuts and bolts that hold a successful
board meeting together and make it strong.

13. ©2015, BoardEffect LLC©2015, BoardEffect LLC
For more resources visit our blog!