{"id":4430,"date":"2016-09-29T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T04:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/?p=4430"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:31:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:31:46","slug":"facilitate-board-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitate-board-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips on How to Facilitate Board Meetings (or Committees)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may effectively facilitate Board Meetings by relying on Robert\u2019s Rules of Order<\/em>, however, blend in facilitative leadership skills to improve your decision quality.<\/h2>\n

In 1876 General Henry M. Robert wrote the rules of American Congress (Parliamentary Procedure) for all citizens and societal groups with his publication of Pocket Manual of Rules of Order.<\/em> Nearly 150 years later, his grandson, Henry M. Robert III, was living with a FAST alumnus<\/a> (a priest and rector) in the rectory at St Mary\u2019s parish, Annapolis. They frequently argued at dinner time over the value of \u201cvoting\u201d compared to \u201cbuilding consensus.\u201d\u00a0 There is a time and place for both methods of decision-making. Never forget, however, that voting may not yield a better decision, only a bigger number.<\/span><\/p>\n

With traditional Board Meetings, Parliamentary Procedure expedites the meeting and provides enough structure to ensure that the entire scope is covered properly. Specifically, embrace\u00a0the following facilitative tips:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    When You Facilitate Board Meetings, Include Ground Rules<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Start every Board or Committee Meeting with a solid, well-prepared introduction. Get your meeting off to a solid start. Cover the seven required activities quickly, but thoroughly.\u00a0 In sequence, the Introductory activities ought to:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"5

    How to Facilitate Board Meetings<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

    – Reinforce your role as facilitator and tiebreaker and their roles as equal voices<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Provide one statement that covers the purpose of the meeting<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Stipulate the scope of the meeting<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Codify\u00a0one statement that distills the meeting deliverable<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Cover any administrative\u00a0or non-content issues<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Quickly review the Agenda<\/span><\/p>\n

    – Provide Ground Rules to ensure the group gets more done, faster<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. When You Facilitate Board Meetings, Sustain an Upbeat Tempo<\/span><\/h4>\n

    Your best meetings will conclude ahead of schedule. Do not over-invest in early topics and shortchange the value of later topics. New Business often follows Department Reports, and arguably remains the most important topic of the meeting. Get to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    3. When You Facilitate Board Meetings, Do NOT Allow Scope Creep<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n

    Do not allow your participants to wander, ramble, and extemporaneously talk too much. Keep them on point. Focus on WHAT has transpired, NOT HOW they are accomplishing stuff.\u00a0 Most importantly, do not deviate from the agenda by jumping around to the topic of the moment. Cut people off if necessary with the caveat that their content will be covered in a later agenda step.<\/span><\/p>\n

    4. When You Facilitate Board Meetings, Focus on Output NOT Outcome<\/span><\/h4>\n

    Satisfying the legality of required meetings should never be the deliverable<\/a>. Focus on change and what actions transpire as a result of shared learnings, experience, and suggestions.\u00a0 Carefully record and separately document decisions, actions, and other inflection points. Visualize your deliverable for every step in the agenda. What should we do now? What should we do differently? If nothing changes, we probably waste our time.<\/span><\/p>\n

    5. When You Facilitate Board Meetings, Manage Open Issues and Next Steps<\/span><\/h4>\n

    Make yourself comfortable with some method or tool for managing your Parking Lot and making follow-up assignments. If learnings need to be analyzed further, make your output clear so that your written statements remain as clear input when the issue is brought up again in a different forum. Conclude with any reminders that help participants show up better prepared for the next meeting. And remember, strive for consensus, rather than relying on voting as a simple way out. Likely a more sophisticated \u2018way out\u2019 will generate higher returns on the investment of your money and time.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    In a world where everyone can engage in decisions that affect them<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    ______<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Lead the Change\u2014One Meeting at a Time<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Are you ready to transform how decisions are made, problems are solved, and alignment is built in your organization?<\/span><\/p>\n

    True meeting leadership goes beyond setting an agenda.<\/b> It requires a facilitator who can navigate complexity, balance voices, and drive toward outcomes with clarity and consensus. Our Professional Meeting Leadership Workshop<\/b><\/a> and facilitation training equips you to do just that\u2014blending human-centric methods<\/b> with structured analytical tools<\/b> to foster rigor, inclusivity, and results that stick.<\/span><\/p>\n