Good board management is about the board’s structure, its culture and the decision-making process as and its employees. The main characteristics of effective management are appropriate behavior and an understanding of the board’s role and duties. Furthermore, effective boards are able to discern when they need new blood and redirect their efforts.
The right behavior is to not be unwilling to speak up, respecting the organization, management and clinicians, and enjoying the board’s role as a duty of citizenship. It is also crucial to distinguish between management and governance and be aware of the impact that decisions made by the board affect other people.
A robust policy procedure and a clear understanding of the role of the board are essential. In order to fulfill the three essential functions of the board, namely setting strategy, making significant and strategic decisions and evaluating the company’s performance, a robust policy process is required. Effective policies can help direct discussions, eliminate duplicate effort and ease the burden of management to prepare tangential information or excessively detailed data for the board.
A well-organized meeting agenda can enhance the efficiency of your board meeting. The most effective method for organizing an agenda is to break it down into items for information, actions and strategic discussions. This allows the board to better understand their roles and also eliminates the concern that they must vote on issues that are only for information. It is important to have clear guidelines for task forces, as well as a procedure to avoid duplicate work. It is also useful to have an office secretary who can help organize meetings, manage the flow and information, and create complete board materials that include pertinent background documents.
