Trusteeship - May/June 2020 - 38

GOING
VIRTUAL
Fast and Well

12 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL BOARD MEETING

BY CATHY A. TROWER
T'S BEEN SAID TO NEVER WASTE A CRISIS and that moment is upon us. As organizations think

through how to do what they do during this pandemic, so must boards quickly move from faceto-face to virtual meetings-and many are floundering. Here's my quick advice for CEOs and
board chairs to work together to go virtual fast and well; and while I think much of this applies
always-and is just good practice-these tips matter now more than ever.

With respect to the agenda:

Running the meeting:

1. Ask, "What does the CEO need at this meeting?" This means,
decide what is essential for the meeting and cut all fluff. Niceties are nice but unnecessary right now, so don't worry, board
and staff get that.
2. Use a consent agenda for standard committee reports, the
CEO's report (or portions thereof ); prior meeting minutes; and
events calendar.
3. State the meeting's objectives up front and design a tight
agenda to meet them. Boards appreciate clarity, in crises
moments more than ever.
4. Send or post to the board portal all materials at least a week
in advance. This would include the agenda; the most critical
questions that board members should think about and be ready
to discuss at the right time on the agenda; any PowerPoints or
other reports.

5. Establish ground rules up front-online prior to the meeting
and again at the outset. The chair should be clear about what
needs to happen in the allotted time and how to keep things
moving. Because airtime matters more than ever, some (new,
for many) norms should be stated, such as:
a. No repeat rule: No one should repeat themselves or simply
parrot back what someone else has already articulated.
b. No dominance rule: No one should hog, or be allowed to
hog, the limited airtime.
c. No soap box, prognostications, or pontificating rule:
self-explanatory.
6. Remind everyone to state their name when they start to speak
so it's clear who it is. For votes, it's especially important to be
sure it's clear who makes the motion and who seconds it, number of 'yeas' and 'nays' and abstentions.

38 TRUSTEESHIP MAY. JUN. 2020

Trusteeship - May/June 2020

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