 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
ARE YOU ON BOARD Effective Board Meetings Strategies every board member should follow
No one wants to serve on a board that just approves the minutes and wastes the hours. Good board meetings are well-planned. They are purposeful, businesslike, informative, challenging, and short. And they are not boring. Parliamentary procedures, properly applied, can help to ensure that meetings are effective and productive. Robert's Rules of Order is an excellent procedural guide for board meetings. I recommend that every board keep the latest edition on hand. Here are a few general ups on keeping meetings interesting and productive: • Don't let meetings of the board become meetings of the bored. There is nothing worse than having meetings dominated by a few long-winded people. Every board member should have an opportunity to participate and keep discussion lively, but some board members belabor every issue. Boards should adopt a general practice of assigning a time limit to every agenda item and then stick to that limit. Each board member should have a time limit to individually react to an issue, and that board member should not be able to speak on the issue again until all board members have had the opportunity to offer their opinions. • Let the committees do the background work. Committees should get involved in the details of an issue. The committee chair should highlight for the board the process that the committee followed in reaching the recommendations offered. • Don't let the day-to-day operations of the agency be part of the board agenda. There is no bigger waste of time than a board that continually tries to second-guess its executive. Board members who have questions about management should bring that to the attention of the board president. The president should request that the board member put his or her concerns in writing and then give the executive an opportunity to respond in writing to that particular board member and to the board president. "By setting meeting policies ahead of time, you have a blueprint for dealing with problems as they arise." • Keep meetings on track. Board members often deviate from the agenda. The president cannot let this happen. Meetings can easily get out of hand and go beyond a reasonable time period. Once a member brings up a subject, ask for a motion and then discuss the issue. Don't discuss the issue and then ask for a motion. A motion will force the board to stay focused. • Orient new board members. Explain how board meetings are conducted, so meeting time can be spent on board business rather than on education of the new member. Before the Meeting Productive meetings start outside the board room. By setting meeting policies ahead of time, you have a blueprint for dealing with any problems as they arise. And everyone involved can prepare for the meeting on their own time, allowing the board to use meeting time for getting down to business. Meeting Policies Attendance. Meeting attendance is extremely important. It can affect your liability as a board member. Board members are responsible for decisions made by the board, regardless of whether they were in attendance when the decision was made. It's the goal of every board to have 100% attendance at all meetings. By missing a meeting, you let fellow board members down, and board conduct may be challenged. However, this ideal may be impossible with peoples busy schedules. Sometimes missing a meeting is unavoidable because of an illness, an emergency or a vacation. The executive should send copies of reports and minutes to any board member who misses a meeting. Every board should have an attendance policy. The board will have to determine which absences are permissible and which are not. After a predetermined number of unexcused absences, an individual should be asked to resign. The board policy might state that any member on the board who has two absences during the fiscal year will be 6 Illinois Parks and Recreation reminded by the chairperson with an official letter. Then, after a total of three absences, the board member will be asked to resign from the board. Technically, a board member cannot be removed from office unless through the electorate. But a board member can be publicly censored — letting the public know of his or her absences and abdicating responsibilities as an elected official. Meetings without Executives Meetings without the executive should never occur. The best insurance against this is a policy forbidding it. In some cases, executive employment contracts include a clause prohibiting this action. All matters should be above-board and a board member should not be embarrassed to discuss any concerns or any constructive criticism of the executive in front of him or her. Follow these general tips, and you will look forward to attending your board meetings. They will be interesting and productive, and most importantly, they will help to advance the inner-workings of your agency. Isn't that what it's all about? •
May/June 2003 7 |
|
|
