Board Meeting Preparation

Board meeting preparation involves a lot of reading, taking notes, thinking/contemplating, and seeking out and asking for additional information. This process improves the overall effectiveness of the board as a decision-making body and allows them to focus their time and energy on strategy, not on the minutiae of procedural issues. This will also help reduce the stress that directors feel at board meetings that are long and packed with lots of information but don’t provide clear actions.

The most effective method to prepare for a board meeting is by reviewing the agenda, particularly preparation guidelines before a board meeting for important items, well before the meeting. Review the list and rank each item based on the importance, urgency and alignment with your organization’s strategic goals. Request input from the board chair or CEO to refine and decide on the top priorities. Then, plan the agenda of the meeting to ensure that the most pressing issues are discussed first and then debated in depth. This will enable the board to leave the meeting with an understanding of the key decisions to be made.

Also, ensure that you include updates on action tasks which were given at the previous board meeting. It is also important to confirm that the necessary information has been provided by presenters. It’s also important to confirm that all participants can access the meeting via phone, video or other online platforms. After the board pack and agenda are approved and distributed, you must distribute them to all participants. This should be done at a minimum of a week before the meeting in order to allow participants time to go through the document and make any changes that are required.