By Johnson Manyakara

Seasoned board members around the world have seen and experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of board meetings. The best board meetings leave board members energised – the goals of the meetings being clear, the process being smooth and the expected outcomes being well defined. Not-so-great board meetings, on the other hand, drain energy and lower morale largely because of being perceived as a waste of time. Therein lies the challenge for boards! This conversation will cover two key areas – the signs and symptoms of poorly run board meetings and best practice in running board meetings. Ideas proffered will, however, equally apply to other types of meetings.

Signs and Symptoms of Poorly Run Board Meetings 

The following are amongst some of the signs and symptoms of poorly run board meetings:

• The board meeting agenda is not send in good time for board members to familiarize themselves with the issues at hand before the meeting;
• When the agenda comes, there’s too much information to digest or not enough to adequately familiarise board members on the issues;
• The agenda is too full of “routine” motions or items “for information only” so there isn’t enough time left to discuss strategic issues in the board meeting;
• Agenda items of greatest importance often get placed at the tail end of the meeting when board members are too tired to concentrate on them;
• Too many members miss too many meetings;
• Board meetings often go on for too long;
• Once the Board has finished discussing something, it’s not clear who is to do what and by when;
• There is too much unconstructive arguing among some members during meetings;
• Meetings are run too informally, for example with more than one person talking at once, no time limits on discussions, etc.;
• Meetings are run too rigidly so that thorough, probing discussions are discouraged;
• A few members seem to dominate discussions, the quieter board members rather discouraged to participate; and  
• The “elephant in the room” is often not confronted.

How high is your score on this, if I may ask?

Best Practice in Running Board Meetings 

Bottom line is board meetings must be run in a manner that is beneficial to the organisation. For people with little experience with board matters, the belief is that the main work for board members takes place at their official, formal meetings. Absolutely not! A good deal of important board work takes place before and after board meetings. Best practice in running board meetings takes this into account. Below are responses to the identified common ills in running board meetings, per best practice, impacting on –

• Before, During and After Board Meetings; and
• During Board Meetings.

Before, During and After Board Meetings

Best practice below energises board members before, during and after board meetings.

a. Agenda

• It should contain a hybrid of items covering both the traditional board agenda (i.e. corporate governance items, corporate control items and fiduciary duties – related items) and forward – looking activities (i.e. board learning and development items, enterprise shaping items and board renewal items).  

• Items of greatest importance should, ideally, come ahead of the not so strategic ones when board members are still fresh to concentrate on them.

• The agenda/board pack should be delivered in time (3-5 days before the meeting) to allow for adequate preparation.
• When the board pack does come, there should not be information overload in terms of agenda – supporting documentation.
• An emerging trend in managing lengths of board meetings is introducing a “consent agenda”, covering items being presented “for information only” (i.e. items to be taken as read but requiring a vote by board members).

b. Meeting RSVPs

• Get meeting RSVPs in advance to remind board members plan to attend – good attendance often leads to good board meeting outcomes. Be warned though – some board members detest reminders, for some reason!

During Board Meetings

a. Core Creating Rules of Engagement

The quality of process during board meetings is a key factor in achieving productive board meetings.  Core creating rules of engagement for the meetings goes a long way in achieving a smooth process. This involves sharing meeting norms and expectations e.g. the expectation on the use of cellphones during meetings, decision-making process, etc.  Board meetings can be less successful if the decision-making process is flawed. Things to consider are –

• Avoiding big talkers to dominate discussions;
• Allowing enough time for a full discussion of key issues;
• Avoiding contributions that go off tangent;
• Having clarity on decisions reached and accountability for action, with specific target dates; and
• Establishing follow up mechanisms to allow the board to check on progress made in implementing decisions.

b. Attendance

If there are problems with meetings in any or all of the areas discussed above, this may result in poor attendance at board meetings.  Board attendance is a good indicator of possible problems in the way the board is working. Poor board attendance may also be a function of some logistical problems such as distance from the centre.  A growing trend is use of technology such as video conferencing, skype, etc.

Best practice is to have periodic post – meeting evaluation of the whole process from agenda generation, through meeting RSVPs, rules of engagement, etc., to provide the Board with feedback on the effectiveness or otherwise of board meetings.  Any identified gaps would need to be addressed.