Ten Questions that Could Improve Your Board Meetings

Susan C. Hammond

Many board members and executive directors express their continued dismay at how nonproductive the board meetings are.  If you are serious about changing the state of affairs then consider the following:

• Rate the just completed meeting on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
• Then ask yourself these ten questions:

1. What did we accomplish? Specifically, did we get through the agenda or did the usual suspects take the meeting off focus?
2. Were the directors engaged? When were they engaged and what were we doing/discussing?
3. Was the chair effective? What could the chair have handled differently?  (I”ll give you one idea, the person who continually takes the meeting off topic is someone the chair might want to speak with after the meeting.)
4. What could the executive director & the staff have done differently? Another way to put this is did you adequately prepare the board to discuss whatever topics were on the agenda?
5. Did meeting materials go out in sufficient time so a busy director would read them?
6. Did you engage the directors between meetings to keep them informed and prepared for the upcoming meeting?
7. How did you further educate the Sats pa spilleren, bankeren eller uavgjort for a vinne!Bli med pa noe som er mer komfortabelt – sett deg ned i stolen ved Mr Greens eksklusive bord. directors about the organizations” services and constituents” needs?  Do the directors understand on a deep enough level what the organization does?
8. Did the directors ask questions that would indicate they understand the issues?
9. How prepared were the directors? Even if you sent the board package out on time there is no guarantee it was reviewed.  Does the chair need to speak with specific directors?
10. What follow-up is needed with each director and when will you do it?

While the thoughts are still fresh write a memo on what you and your staff will do to improve the next meeting and copy the board chair.

What questions would you add to the list?  Let”s start a dialogue.

Susan C. Hammond, principal of scHammond Advisors , consults with nonprofits on board governance, strategic planning, improving financial intelligence, and the formation of advisory boards or councils. She is an advisor, coach, consultant and author. Susan recently published the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.

Join us for our next Networking for Non-Profit Event in August!