Board meeting preparation involves a lot of reading, taking notes, thinking/contemplating, and seeking out and asking for additional information. This process improves the overall effectiveness of the board as a decision-making body and allows them to concentrate their time and energy on strategy, rather than on procedural matters. This helps to reduce the anxiety that directors experience when they attend meetings that are long and filled with a lot of information and don’t produce specific action steps.

The best way to prepare yourself for a board of directors ‘ meeting is to read the agenda ahead of time, and pay special attention to important items. Review the list of upcoming topics and prioritize each by relevance, urgency and alignment with the organization’s goals and strategies. To determine the best priority items, seek input from your CEO or the chair of your board. Create the agenda for the meeting to ensure that the most important issues are discussed first and in depth. This will allow the board to take away the meeting with a clear understanding of the important decisions that need to be taken.

Also, make sure to include any information regarding the action tasks assigned during previous board meetings and verify that all relevant information was given by the presenters. It’s also important to confirm whether all participants are able to access the meeting via phone, video or other online platforms. Send the board pack and agenda to all participants once they are finalized. The ideal time to send them out is one week prior to the meeting so that participants have adequate time to look over and request modifications.

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