A structure for your board meeting that is customized to the specific needs of your company will help you have productive discussions and ensure that all important points are recorded. While there are some conventions that you can adhere to however, it is best to take a flexible approach and be open to changes.

Start the meeting by calling the meeting to order, and then looking over the agenda. The board chair asks whether there are any modifications or additions that should be made. The board chair will then accept the agenda for discussion and then make a decision.

The board examines reports from departments and committees. The board’s https://naturalboardroom.com/4-questions-about-board-conflicts-of-interest/ discussion during the meeting typically covers progress updates, financial statements and budgets, proposal reviews and more. It is a good idea to limit the number of topics related to reports to prevent the meeting from becoming entangled in administrative matters.

The chair helps the board members find a common ground on which to discuss and agree on solutions. The chair will call a board meeting when there is no more discussions or when the time when the meeting to conclude approaches.

Certain directors can get distracted by the new topics of discussion that come up during the board meeting, which can lead to important discussions being derailed. To help prevent this it is possible to include an “parking lot” item on the agenda, in which directors can put forth random topics that should be discussed but are not top priorities. The board can then debate the subjects to decide if they are worthy of being discussed further or added to the next agenda.