Board Meeting Rules – 7 of the Most Important Rules for a Successful Board Meeting
There are a lot of rules in the world of board meeting. This is a great thing as it ensures the discussions are fair and productive. However, the sheer number of rules can become overwhelming, especially for a new chair or the seasoned one. In this article, we take a look at seven of the most important board meeting rules which are essential to ensure constructive dialogue and positive results.
Rule 1: The order of precedence must be observed.
The chairperson of the board should ensure that the discussion stays focused on the issues on their agenda. It is the responsibility of each member to respect and listen to the opinions of other members. In order to speak the member must stand or raise their hands to indicate to the chairperson that they are willing to do so. The chairperson should then permit the member to voice their opinions. The chairperson should follow Robert’s Rules of Order in deciding which types of motions should have the highest priority and what method to employ for recognition (i.e. raising your hand or asking permission).
Rule 2: One topic at a time is discussed.
Getting sidetracked by new topics will eat up time at the board meeting and cause distraction from the most important issues. To help reduce this issue the board’s leader can include an “parking lot” at the end of the agenda so that they can present topics that are worthy, but not top priority. The board leader could then make a promise to revisit the parking lot to determine if these topics should be added to the agenda next time, moved into a subsequent meeting or assigned a task.