One SMALL change your board can take to make a BIG difference

I’m the kind of person who likes to plan ahead and prepare. And that is exactly what independent school boards need to do for their schools: plan ahead and prepare. 

And while I would never suggest that I have a silver bullet that will make boards supremely effective, there is one thing that I have noticed in my time working with lots of boards that seems to hold them back.  It is a relatively simple thing, that when remedied can make a big difference in how focused and strategic your board can be.

If I could recommend one thing your board could do now that would positively impact their effectiveness it would be:

Improve the board meeting agenda. 

Sound too simple? Consider this:

1. Without a carefully planned board agenda, your board runs the risk of overlooking (or avoiding) key issues.
2. Without specifically focusing on strategic and visionary conversations, your board runs the risk of staying “in the weeds.”
3. Without time limitations, your board runs the risk of spending too much time on one topic, to the exclusion of others.
4. Without action items, your board runs the risk of spending time talking without accomplishing much.

I’ve observed that when boards carefully craft strategically designed agendas, that are topic-focused, time-limited, and action-oriented, they are able to accomplish an astonishing amount! Wouldn’t you like that for your board?

Note: If you would like to learn more about developing effective agendas, I’ve targeted board meeting planning as one of the 3 Keys to a Strategic Board in my upcoming FREE board workshop. 

In this free workshop, I’ll teach board members:

• The three areas they need to focus on to accomplish effective governance
• How to approach finding the right new board members
• How to structure board meetings to be action-oriented and strategic

Save your spot here for the 3 Keys to a Strategic Board Workshop
Thursday, January 21st at 3 pm EST (2 pm Central, noon Pacific)



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