Avoid These Mistakes When Designing Your Board Meeting Agenda

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A well-designed agenda for board meetings is an essential tool for efficient meetings. But, a meeting agenda alone doesn’t guarantee a productive discussion or the ability to make decisions. Board members must be aware of the common errors that can hamper the effectiveness of meetings in order to achieve desired results.

The inclusion of too many topics on the agenda leads to rushed discussions and insufficient time for each item. To avoid this, it is important to prioritize items in accordance with the urgency and importance of each item and then take into consideration whether certain topics can be deferred to committee sessions or future board meetings for in-depth exploration.

Set time limits for each item on the agenda. This will help your board stay on track and ensure that each issue is given proper consideration. Be realistic in your time estimates and look at your past experience of meetings that were on time to determine what is feasible in a single meeting.

It is recommended to share the agenda of the board meeting within a couple of days or at least 24 hour before the meeting. This gives board members an opportunity to read relevant documents before the meeting. Some organizations have an entry form to verify attendance.

Clarify how the decision-making process will be conducted for each agenda item, for example through consensus or vote. This will help reduce confusion during the discussion. For instance, if a topic is controversial, clarify that the board will make an unanimity decision, not a split vote.