A board meeting agenda is a reference that will ensure that your meetings are efficient and on track. When it comes to maximizing the time that your board members spend together it is more about substance than fashion.

Start with a call to start the meeting and a welcome from the facilitator or board chair to officially open your meeting. You might then move on to take a vote on the minutes of the previous meeting or the financial report. You can also look over committee updates or other administrative tasks. It’s a good idea following that, you should reserve part of the meeting for discussions about strategic planning or other governance matters. You might also want to include a sensitive or confidential topic in an executive meeting, if your company’s bylaws allow it.

Throughout the meeting, make sure to listen carefully and attentively to each presentation. It is important to raise any questions or concerns you have regarding the presentation and let content your fellow board members respond. However, be careful not to wander off and begin to discuss discussion topics that aren’t appropriate for the agenda. This can waste meeting time, and divert attention from the most important issues on your board’s agenda. To prevent this from happening, you can add a “parking lot” item at the bottom of the agenda, to promote various topics that require more focus at a later time.

The last thing to do is ensure that you send your board with an agenda at least a week prior the meeting. This will give everyone ample time to review and prepare for the meeting. It’s a good idea to include any supporting documents required by board members in order to know the subject.