A strategic board agenda is key to productive meetings. The way an agenda is designed and how it’s presented will determine the success or failure of the meeting. Making and adhering to an agenda that the chair of the board could choose to use will help simplify the process of preparing for and running a meeting for the board. This helps the board stay focused throughout the meeting, ensuring that they don’t get distracted by topics that don’t relate to the mission of the organization or waste time on operational issues that can be addressed through committees.
The majority of the board meeting agenda should be devoted to discussion and important subjects. This could be forward-thinking, relating to strategic goals, or simply new information and data. To keep the board and discussions focused, it is recommended to remove reports or old business that aren’t strategically relevant from the agenda. If these items are required, they should be included at the close of a board meeting to not take up the entire time.
The agenda for the meeting of the board should be communicated to the board members in advance so they are aware of the topics and issues that might be asked. This will help them prepare for the meeting and can also allow them to see what other board members have planned to bring up in the conversation. This transparency will help the board stay focused and organized at the meeting, as well as reinforce the importance of attending in person.
