Sometimes, things are done in a certain way because they have always been done that way. This is especially true in long-standing organizations that have had turnover on the board and in management. Institutional practices become ingrained and repeated without question.
My recommendation is to look at your practices and ensure that they are accomplishing what you want to accomplish. I suggest focussing in two areas:
- Materials in support of board and committee meetings and
- Using committees and ordering the agendas so that the time of directors is valued and work is done efficiently and effectively.
Materials
- Develop principles to ensure board gets only the needed information.
- Review past board packages and filter out what was not directly needed for making the decision.
- Eliminate reports that are internal to management.
- Find other ways for directors to get supporting information without adding to board package.
Use Dashboards
Committees should develop and use dashboards which are information contained on a single piece of paper that summarizes important information so directors can chart performance at a glance. The appropriate committee will ensure that the dashboard accurately reflects the MBO’s performance and presents a valid picture to the board.
Committees: Arrange the work of the board so that committees do the “heavy lifting.”
- Committees need specific mandates that are approved by the board.
- Some committee work involves oversight of what has been done and how well.
- Committees such as Governance and HR are involved with forward-looking items such as board assessments and CEO compensation.
The work done by committees can be reported to the board and placed on the consent agenda for the regular board meeting. All items on the consent agenda can be passed in one motion.
If there are questions or concerns, that committee report can be taken off the consent agenda and debated at the board meeting. The CEO and the board chair should decide what else could go on the consent agenda.
Make sure the board members do the work needed:
- Where possible, the committee materials should be available to all board members
- Confirm that the board is aware of the work getting done by confirming it at regular board in camera meetings and,
- canvass the issue in your annual board assessment.
The board can now spend time on direction-setting, policy oversight and “big picture thinking.” You will have more time to tackle difficult issues in-depth and board members will develop trust with each other as much of the work of the board is performed by committees with the board oversight.