Creating an Effective Board Meeting Agenda
The first step in a successful meeting is to develop an agenda that works. The agenda for board meetings does not need to be a pre-determined document that is used repeatedly time. Instead, you can use the agenda to serve as a tool to allow you to alter the way you run your meetings so that you gain the most value from your board members.
The agenda for the board meeting should clearly define the objective of the meeting, so that it does not end up waste of time and ensure that all relevant topics are discussed. The agenda should contain both optional and required attendees so that they are able to plan according to the needs. It is recommended that the agenda is shared with board members prior to the time of the meeting, so that they can allow them to review the agenda and prepare for the meeting.
It is crucial to include a section on the agenda for board meetings to discuss new business for the board, so that members are able to raise any concerns or issues that were not discussed at the previous meeting. The old business section allows board members to look over any issues that are not resolved and decide what to do regarding them. It is also helpful to include a report from a committee section on the board meeting agenda to allow the board to get valuable information from different committees on particular aspects of their work.
The last item on the agenda for the board meeting is an occasion for the Board members to discuss any issues that were not included in the Consent Agenda, and to take note of the minutes. This will help avoid any contradictions in the minutes of meetings and ensure accountability.