Board meeting preparation involves a lot of reading, taking notes, thinking/contemplating, and seeking out and asking for additional information. This improves the efficiency of the board and lets them spend more time on the strategy, and less time on procedural issues. This also lessens the frustration that many directors experience at board meetings which are long and contain many details, but do not provide clear actions.
The best way to prepare yourself for a meeting of the board of directors is to review the agenda well in advance, and pay special attention to the most important items. Review the agenda and classify every item according to the importance, urgency and alignment with your organization’s strategic goals. To determine the best priority items, seek input from your CEO or board chair. Create the agenda for the meeting to ensure that the most important issues are discussed first, and in depth. This allows the board to come away from the meeting with an understanding of the decisions that have to be made.
Also, be sure to include any updated information on the tasks assigned to you at previous board meetings and ensure that all required information was provided by the presenters. It’s also crucial to confirm that all participants have access to the meeting via video, phone or other online platforms. Send the board pack and agenda to all participants once they’ve been approved. This should be done at a minimum of one week prior to the meeting so that participants have time to review it and make any changes they feel are needed.
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