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Board meetings are critical to the overall success of an organization. Both the board members and the leadership team must contribute a lot of effort and dedication. How do you conduct an effective board meeting manner that is both productive and effective? The answer lies in thorough planning an organized agenda for the meeting as well as the early distribution of material and meeting materials, smart scheduling, appropriate locations and easy access to required materials.

Begin the meeting by introducing the agenda and then extending a warm greeting to everyone in attendance, especially new members or guests. Set the tone by stating the purpose of the board’s meetings and clearly describing the process for making decisions. It is also crucial to consider the requirement for quorum, as stated in your governing documents, and ensure that all necessary members are present to legally conduct business.

Discuss the most important agenda items first. This will ensure you give enough time for them to be discussed and considered. This will help drive the most stimulating and engaging discussions and help you stick to your allotted meeting schedule.

The process you’ll be using to make your decisions during the meeting. This will ensure that all board members understand and agree on the decision-making process which is crucial to ensuring that decisions are made efficiently.

Give the board plenty of time to talk about new, unresolved issues. This is called “new business.” These are usually discussions with the intention of reaching a conclusion. However, if you determine that additional research is required or that a decision cannot be reached at the meeting It is beneficial to make an agenda item for these items. These issues can be discussed in future meetings or dealt with in follow-up discussions.