How to Successfully Hold Board Meetings

Board meetings are crucial because the decisions taken by your board members – which usually require the majority of or even all members to reach a consensus and can significantly impact your company. This means you have plenty of limitations to work within however, the majority of them are not as difficult as you might think.

A successful board meeting requires lots of planning and thought before the meeting. If your board members aren’t prepared, they may be unable to engage in meaningful discussions at the meeting. This could result in your decision-making being reduced or even derail. To avoid this, it’s important to send out your board packs a few days in advance of the meeting.

The chair of your board will go over the rules of the game at beginning of the meeting with participants (e.g. how long a discussion should last or how to take an informed decision). This will help everyone understand the rules and create an atmosphere that is positive.

Reports are usually presented in the next portion of a meeting. These could include financial statements, progress reports or any other pertinent information. The chair of the board will invite each member to ensure that there is a quorum.

At this point, the board may also review and discuss the board minutes from the previous meeting. Once they are complete they can be ratified by the entire board. Afterward announcements or updates that are relevant for the Board Members responsibilities meeting at hand could be made available for discussion. Finally, the meeting can be officially closed or adjourned by the chairman.