Running an efficient, fair and orderly board meeting is the goal – but not always the reality – for trustees and hospital leadership. The following tips and reminders will help your board run a successful and productive meeting.
- State your meeting goals at the top of your meeting agenda.
- Take a mission moment: ask a board member to read your mission statement out loud.
- Prioritize your agenda from important topics to trivial. Major discussions should be at the top of your agenda, followed by routine approvals.
- Note your timing so your meetings begin and end on time.
- Note your agenda items for voting and discussion.
- Include dashboards and visuals to accompany reports.
- Make use of your consent agenda. Include items that may not need discussion (i.e. staff reports and
executive summaries). - Give members time to prepare. A best practice is to send meeting materials to board members at least a week in advance of the meeting.
- High-performing boards spend 75% of their time on strategy, and 25% of their time on operational issues
Discussion among board members is key for communicating and understanding the issue at-hand and is crucial for effective decision-making. Here are some best practices to foster a healthy dialogue in the board room:
- Ensure your discussion and decision-making processes include all board members.
- Follow the agenda to keep the board moving toward its goals.
- Control the flow of the meeting by recognizing members who ask to speak.
- When discussions get off-track, gently guide the group back to the agenda.
- Model courtesy and respect – and insist that others do the same.
- Develop the board’s skills in parliamentary procedure by properly using motions and points
of order. - Give each speaker your undivided attention.
- Keep an emotional pulse on the discussions.
- Allow a consensus to have the final authority of the group.