Do your board meetings engage your directors? Do people leave energized and ready to better lead your nonprofit? This presentation will help you learn the 9 Critical Factors for creating--and leading--board meetings that actually work.

1. 9 Ways To Make Your Next Board
Meeting Better
By: Tom Okarma

2. 1. Send a complete meeting package for
directors one week in advance, including
– Agenda
– Committee reports
– Meeting minutes
– Background reading
materials
– Special handouts, etc.
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better

3. 2. At the meeting, assume everyone has read the
materials and is fully briefed.
– Do not penalize the many by waiting for the few to read
the package.
3. Use a Consent Agenda. Think of it as a collection of all
routine items needing approval, such as:
– Meeting minutes
– Standard contract renewals
– Routine board resolutions routine revisions to policies,
minor updates,
– Have the board vote on the items all at once.
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better

4. 4. Use board committees effectively, giving them
real responsibility.
– Board meetings are for presentation of issues,
discussion of options, and disposition
– With few exceptions, most “heavy lifting” should be
done by committees—in their own meetings.
– Use committees to study important issues, report to
the board and make its recommendations
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better

5. 5. Capture, in writing, all board decisions
– Document what actions
were approved
– Identify who is
responsible
– Set deadlines for
completion
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better

6. 6. Bring your clients “into” the boardroom to
keep discussions relevant.
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better
• Start each meeting by reading a
letter (anonymously) from
someone who had benefitted from
the agency’s services.
• Those letters describe how agency
services helped them get back on
their feet.
• This simple practice keep the board
grounded and real.
• Share these letters with staff,
volunteers, etc

7. 7. Start out each board meeting with
a Captivating Question.
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better
– Get everyone’s juices flowing quickly
– Pose a controversial, open-ended
question
• If we were starting up our organization
today, what would it look like?
• It is 2017 and we just came off our most
successful year. What 2-3 key steps or
decisions did the board make resulting in
these great results?
• If we could do one thing right now that
would improve our organization what
would that be?

8. 8. Lead the meeting more effectively.
– Board chairs need to be leaders, tactful, but leaders
nonetheless. The directors expect the chair to proactively
lead.
– Chairs should be respected by directors and willing to
make tough decisions, address problems as they arise, and
lead tight meetings.
– Do not let directors ramble on. Keep the meetings flowing
smoothly by respecting everyone’s time and give others an
opportunity to contribute.
– Directors who commit to doing something must be held
accountable if they fail to deliver.
– Lead energetic, well-paced, strategic meetings
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better

9. How Does Your Nonprofit Measure Up?
Find out if you’re on track for Success.
9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better
Take the Quiz

10. 9 Ways To Make Your Next
Board Meeting Better
This presentation is
Find more resources for your
nonprofit and learn how to
become a better leader at
TomOkarma.com