A board meeting schedule is an outline to help you keep your meetings on the right track and productive. Style over substance is crucial in order to maximize the time that your board members have to collaborate.
Start with a call-to- order and an introduction from the board chair or facilitator to officially begin your meeting. You can then decide to approve the minutes of the previous meeting or the financial report. You could also review the committee’s updates or administrative tasks. It’s a good idea next, to reserve some time for discussions on strategic planning or other governance issues. You may also want to include a confidential or sensitive topic in your executive session, if your organization’s bylaws allow it.
Listen carefully and thoughtfully at every point. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the presentation make sure you raise questions and allow fellow board members to respond. Be careful not to drift off track and discuss topics which aren’t listed on the agenda. This can eat up the time of meetings and distract from the most important topics on your board’s agenda. To avoid this it is possible to add a «parking lot» item at the bottom of the agenda, to promote various topics that require more focus at a later time.
Last but not least, ensure that you provide your board with the agenda minimum one week prior to your meeting. This will give everyone plenty of time to review and prepare for the meeting. It’s also a good idea to include the agenda along with any other supporting documents that board members will require to fully comprehend the topic at hand.