Board meetings are an important opportunity for directors to come together to engage in productive discussions and make impactful decisions. But often, board meetings aren’t as effective as they could be, and board members leave the meeting feeling like they’ve wasted their time.
Organizations must make it a priority to improve the effectiveness of their board meetings. After all, as Mariana Zumaya, Managing Partner at The Zumaya Group, puts it, “The quality of board meetings directly impacts the engagement and commitment of the board members.”
But how can organizations plan and execute more effective board meetings?
Recently, Zumaya joined Jeremy Ladyga, nonprofit board consultant at OnBoard, to explore strategies and best practices for organizing and leading board meetings that drive impactful decisions. The session explored:
- Top challenges boards face when it comes to board meetings
- A 6-step framework for driving more effective board meetings
- How the right board portal enables better board governance before, during, and after the board meeting
Here, we share key takeaways from this engaging session.
Better Board Meetings are a Must
According to the Harvard Business Review, executives spend an average of 23 hours per week in meetings. That’s roughly half of their work week. It’s important to properly structure board meetings to ensure you’re getting the most from them.
“Since nonprofits often invite business leaders who are already juggling numerous meetings to serve on the board, it’s essential to structure these meetings effectively,” said Zumaya.
Properly structuring board meetings is an important way to maximize board member engagement. Engaged board members are more likely to make an impact on the organization they serve.
“Because nonprofit board members volunteer their time, it’s important to ensure meetings are well-run to keep them engaged and prevent burnout.”
The good news is, maximizing the effectiveness of your board meeting doesn’t have to be a big undertaking. Start small, and then build from there.
“By mastering the meeting structure – even starting small – you’ll see immediate benefits with ongoing improvements over time,” explained Zumaya.
Ensure effective, efficient meetings with our comprehensive Board Meeting Agenda Template.
There are Many Challenges Related to Board Meetings
Board meetings should be effective and efficient. In theory, this seems simple enough.
But in reality, organizations face a number of challenges related to planning and executing great board meetings.
A poll of webinar attendees found the top challenge is that board members come to meetings unprepared. Other top challenges include:
- Inefficient, unproductive board meetings
- Time-consuming materials creation
- Disorganized, fragmented meeting prep process
- Offering an effective hybrid meeting experience
A Simple Framework Can Have a Big Impact
Zumaya shared a simple, 6-step framework for streamlining board meetings.
“This framework may not be revolutionary, but its effectiveness in streamlining nonprofit meetings is remarkable,” she said. “Its impact speaks for itself. By implementing these steps you’ll not only elevate the board member experience, but also strengthen relationships and boost engagement among your dedicated volunteers.”
Step 1: Draft Agenda
One to two weeks before the meeting takes place, someone should own the responsibility of drafting the agenda. It’s important to ensure the agenda is reflective of what you want the board to weigh in on.
The quality, the consistency, and the timing of drafting the agenda are all key for setting the foundation for success,” explained Zumaya.
Step 2: Call for Content
This step involves requesting updates from stakeholders (both on the staff and board level) on their respective areas of ownership. It’s important to provide these stakeholders with adequate time to provide their updates.
“There are multiple stakeholders you must rely on for updates,” said Zumaya. “‘You need to give people time to give you this information. This process should be standard. Then, people know what to expect.”
Step 3: Finalize Pre-Read
During this step, administrators must review, synthesize, and organize feedback and information received from stakeholders and apply it to the final agenda. The pre-read and final agenda should be:
- Comprehensive
- Well-organized
- Tailored to facilitate a productive, focused board meeting
“Materials should be as concise and effective as possible before distribution,” said Zumaya.
Step 4: Send Pre-Read
After you’ve finalized the pre-read materials, it’s time to share them with directors. The pre-read materials should be in directors’ hands no later than 24 hours before the board meeting. Ideally, these materials should be sent out 48 hours before the meeting.
“This step in the process makes or breaks a successful board meeting,” said Zamaya.
If board members don’t have enough time to review the pre-read prior to the meeting, they’re likely to leave the meeting feeling like nothing was accomplished. On the other hand, the pre-read – if it’s done correctly – will provide a good experience for the board.
“[Directors] show up informed,” said Zumaya. “They know in advance what will be covered and decided. They’re equipped and prepared and will have much more respect for the organization.”
Furthermore, preparing and sending the pre-read is an important way to show your board members that you’re committed to organization and that you value their time.
“To gain a strong commitment from your board members, they need to trust that you value their time,” explained Zumaya. “These are volunteers. Demonstrate that you’re a good steward of your time. Implementing a pre-read is a common practice that showcases your commitment to organization and productivity.”
Step 5: Board Meeting
If you’ve followed the steps up until this point, all your board members should be prepared and engaged. During the meeting, aim to concentrate your board members’ time on the two “d’s”
- Discussion: Important topics and areas the board needs to weigh in on
- Decision: Determining what needs to be decided during the meeting
“We urge nonprofits to prioritize these two areas,” said Zumaya. “This ensures you make the most of your limited time together.”
Step 6: Delegate
The board meeting is over. Now, it’s time to ensure tasks actually get done. This requires proper delegation.
“It’s crucial to ensure responsibilities are delegated promptly after each board meeting,” said Zumaya.
Ladyga shared the results of a recent survey of board professionals, which found 63% view having an engaged board as the primary factor that drives board success. “One of the biggest things that make a board great is when everyone is in the boat rowing together,” he said.
The Right Board Portal is Key to Better Meetings
Any nonprofit organization wants to have better board meetings. But often, these organizations use outdated processes and procedures to prepare for and execute board meetings. Often, this involves distributed bloated files via email or even mailing out paper packets.
These outdated processes stand in the way of more effective, productive board meetings. A better approach is to use a board portal.
“Board portals help this meeting process tremendously,” said Ladyga. “They’re a single source of truth for everything for your board.”
For starters, a board portal like OnBoard makes it faster and easier for organizations to prepare for board meetings. With OnBoard, nonprofits can easily draft agendas and develop pre-read materials.
“Often, documentation lives in a lot of different places. The idea of compiling these all into a single PDF and emailing them out is kind of tricky,” said Ladyga.
With OnBoard, administrators can receive documents from different stakeholders and drag them into an agenda item. Administrators can then publish the pre-read materials and send an alert to board members letting them know the materials are ready. Board members can make annotations to the materials right from their computer or mobile device, which they can share with others.
Board members and administrators can also use OnBoard during the board meeting itself. For example, tasks can be assigned to board members in the flow of the meeting. “As soon as I assign that task, people get updates related to it,” said Ladyga.
Robust to-do and task management capabilities also ensure alignment among board members before, during, and after board meetings. “It’s a way to keep everyone moving forward in the same direction,” explained Ladyga.
Zumaya agreed. “I like that OnBoard holds people accountable to do the role they’re supposed to do.”
With OnBoard, board directors have everything they need to show up to meetings prepared and ready to make meaningful progress that moves the organization forward. “You can’t make anyone do anything, but you can set the stage to make it as easy as possible,” concluded Ladyga.
Efficiently track and document board decisions with our Meeting Minutes Template
About The Author
- Adam Wire is a Content Marketing Manager at OnBoard who joined the company in 2021. A Ball State University graduate, Adam worked in various content marketing roles at Angi, USA Football, and Adult & Child Health following a 12-year career in newspapers. His favorite part of the job is problem-solving and helping teammates achieve their goals. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two dogs. He’s an avid sports fan and foodie who also enjoys lawn and yard work and running.
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