Effective Board Meetings
Board members can become frustrated when board agendas come late, meetings go on too long, wonder off topic or end up not getting anything done. These and other problems with board meetings are dealt with here.
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"Managing Meetings" by Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting is probably the most complete coverage of all aspects of running effective meetings of all types.Authenticity Consulting -
A fascinating exchange between a variety of nonprofit executives and board members on how much and what kind of input staff should have to board meetings. (Click inside the "No Image" box to the left.)Idealist.org -
Sometimes board members fail to attend meeting because they find them "boring" or feel that they have nothing to contribute. This resource provides practical suggestions for keeping meeting lively and interesting.About.com -
Not many writings on boards get into nitty-gritty real life problems, such as how to handle "difficult" individual board members - who can single-handedly ruin meetings or upset others to the point where they resign. This discussion from these consultants to the Australian Nonprofit Governance and Management Centre.Governance and Management Pty Ltd -
Can non profit boards vote by mail and email? As is true of so many matters, there are legal answers and sensible answers to this question, which may not be the same. Attorney Gene Takagi and Emily Nicole Chan discuss both in this helpful article.Blue Avocado -
This article from the archives of The Nonprofit Quarterly provides valuable tips on dealing with conflict in boards.The Nonprofit Quarterly -
Occasionally, board meetings can become highly disputatious with everyone making motions, amendments, counter-motions, etc. When this happens it is necessary to resort to formal 'rules of order' to control the situation. For a simplified review of these rules and quick access to sites containing the official publications of standard systems of meeting rules go to this page by consultant Stran Trout:Stran L. Trout