For several years, I have served on the Board of Directors for a statewide non-profit organization. While I believe fervently in the mission of this organization, I have considered resigning several times since I joined the Board. Month after month, I sit and wonder how a group of people, who all are individually smart, can talk circles around the same issues and make meaningful progress on none of them. Rather than use this space to analyze reasons the organization so far has failed to grow into its potential, I will identify three keys for improving the effectiveness of BOD and other meetings. 

As a working board, how we use our time together each month is absolutely critical. Yet as I’ve observed our interactions, it’s become apparent that we seldom discuss issues that will move us forward. Instead, we reinforce our different perceptions of how things could be or why something could never work. When we do like a proposal, we express general support for ideas and rarely set deadlines for achieving specific outcomes. More fundamentally, our listening and questioning skills often are downright terrible.

Last fall, I suggested to our chairman that we had a lot of what I call “undiscussables” and that our failure to discuss these matters hinders our effectiveness. I offered to facilitate a dialogue about these undiscussables, even though I have no specific title or authority at the Board level. I didn’t want to usurp others’ authority or point fingers. I did (and do) believe that I have leadership responsibilities simply because I have a seat at the table. Moreover, I had formulated my opinion months earlier and sat silently for far too long.

Our chairman and executive committee accepted my proposal and said we should do it as soon as possible. In January, we abbreviated our usual agenda and set aside three and a half hours for a different kind of conversation. I anticipated that people would butt heads, disagree vehemently, even personalize innocent differences. To my surprise, none of this happened. That’s not to say it won’t in the future. Perhaps, we need more experience stepping into the fire together!

Here’s why I believe the conversation was, as one longtime board member reported, “Extremely worthwhile and productive”. Beyond striving to maintain my role as neutral facilitator of the conversation, I did three things that seem to be absent from most meetings I attend and hear people describe:

• I began by working with everyone to identify issues we might discuss. Together, we determined that we needed to clarify our purpose and value proposition. Everything else about the organization hinges on knowing these and being able to communicate them to prospective stakeholders. Making this our focus, we set an agenda for the remaining time.
  

• Before beginning the dialogue about purpose, I led a conversation about how we would conduct ourselves for the next few hours. In other words, we developed norms or rules of engagement, as I call them. We went beyond agreeing to the importance of things like “respect” and identified specifically what behaviors constitute respect and how we would recognize a violation. We talked about conflict and each person’s responsibility for addressing it. Finally, I put the group on notice that everyone must take responsibility for enforcing the norms if they were to be useful. I said it’s insufficient to sit back and expect the facilitator to police everyone.
  
  

• Recognizing that we had never used a structure or format like this, I modeled the behaviors to which we had agreed. I gently reminded people of the norms and pointed out when they strayed . I worked diligently to stick to the agenda, fighting my own tendency to chase tangents endlessly.  Throughout, I demonstrated that it’s okay to take risks by stepping out of my own comfort zone.

We closed with more energy and clarity about our future than we’d had for as long as I can recall. People approached me afterward to express their gratitude. They did this because I expressed a concern that is common among board members and provided a structured alternative that had the potential to help us improve our results. What I did was fundamental and uncommon. I've come to believe the solution so many of us seek for our meetings lies in creating clear and ritualized structures; rules of engagement; and shared ownership of the process and the results.  Anyone at the table can lead the charge for developing these keys for success.

Call 303-598-3470 or email us to share your thoughts or inquire about how we might help you improve the value of your meetings.