Board Meetings have Agenda’s, why can’t we have?

How do board meetings work? Considering the fact the people on the board are paid well and they are very important people, the meetings have to be most effective which is why planning and execution are always proper. However, when it comes to regular office meetings, we rarely take pains to plan but do we still not expect fruitful results from these meetings?

Why not learn from board meetings?

A typical board meeting begins with the preparation of an agenda which is communicated to all participants before they attend. How is an agenda prepared?

It’s simple - take a question that you want to address in the meeting (This is your topic), take note of how you would prepare for it (probably you need to review a report), and write the proposed process (these are the problem or solution areas that you need to focus on).

But, if this is how an extensive agenda is prepared then how do they take care of the limited time? They do not just come up with discussion points but also with proposed solutions that they call as “Motions”. Every participant can have a motion (you speak of a solution that is not just in your head but also you have a formal copy of it). When the motion is presented, the chairperson would take the voting and if the motion gets the maximum votes, it is approved.

Are all motions approved or rejected in the meeting? No, some may not even reach the discussion point so they get postponed for the next meeting. Such motions are marked as “Tabled” for next session.

Now comes the next part- what after the meeting is over? Are we not supposed to act on the points discussed? In board meetings, we have a dedicated minute taker who takes note of all the points discussed and then creates a formal “Minutes of the Meeting” which is forwarded to all attendees so that they know what actions they have to take. What does this minute contain?

·        Date and venue of the meeting

·        Who participated and who missed it (You may also have a proxy person representing someone who could not attend)

·        Approvals (motions that were approved in voting)

·        Reports (Reports that were presented)

·        Tabled (topics postponed for discussion)

Now, if we have to use the idea for our own small meeting structures, how can we do that?

Step 1: Prepare an agenda

List down all the questions, their preparation needs, and process. You will do this after having a small discussion between key people who would be attending.

How to sequence your agenda?

1. Motions (only for voting)

2. Reports (presentations)

3. Most important discussion Topics (open for discussion)

4. Least important topics (discuss if time remains or else table them)

Send the agenda to all needed participants.

Step 2: Allot a person responsible to take note of all what was discussed including motions approved, motions rejected, reports presented, discussion results, topics tabled, etc.

Step 3: Organise minutes into a formal style report with modifications done for clarification so that readers can easily understand the minutes.

Email the minutes to all attendees and those who were supposed to attend

The last step is obvious - to take action. How do we ensure that happens?

Simple again, add a section called “Action Steps” in the minutes where you list down all the meeting decisions and alongside put the name of a responsible person, the duration in which the work has to be completed, and the next date of presentation for the person.

Will this work?

·        If boards use this approach, it has to have some science behind it

·        Formalizing and organizing meetings would always be better and less time consuming than having a random discussion with no specific objectives.

·        With action steps identifying responsibilities, people would be pushed to take action.

·        Formal setting would bring seriousness in the meeting