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At most companies, board meetings feel like “bored” meetings. 

Leaders show up unprepared and leave uninspired. The result is wasted opportunity from one of your most high-cost and high-value meetings of the quarter. 

A great board meeting should feel collaborative and productive. It should leave you with a sense of clarity, motivation, and actionable steps to guide the business for the next 90 days.

I sat down with friend and fellow-CEO, Alex Augsburger of Optimizely, to talk about thoughtful ways to improve the board meeting process. 

• How to make the most of your time
• How to set your leadership team up for success
• How to walk away with tangible action steps

Here’s where we landed. 

Step one: Shift your mindset

In the past, board meetings followed a formal and hierarchical structure. 

The CEO or chairperson dominated the discussion, there was a ton of data shared through lengthy reports, and the meeting featured a strong emphasis on control and secrecy.

Fast forward to 2023, and there’s two key components: 

1. Collaboration and inclusivity

Get active participation from all the members and come prepared with questions and discussion points to get different perspectives.

2. Transparency and accountability 

Use financial reports and performance metrics to tackle a strategic issue and guide the company’s long-term direction. Be honest about how you’re doing and how the market may or may not affect your goals. 

To get there, you’ll need: 

• Preparation
• Clear outcomes
• Targeted talking points

And a new mindset to support them. 

Step two: Build a preparation plan

You want a winning board meeting. How are you setting yourself up for success?

Invest heavily in prep work before ever sitting down with the board. On average, this means laying the groundwork up to a month before every board meeting.

Prep work serves multiple goals: 

• It forces the leadership team to define board outcomes
• It sparks the team to gather data and insights
• It creates a space for revenue collaboration

One way to organize your prep work is with an executive essay.

For example, task each department head with putting together a 3-6 page document outlining where they’ve been and where they’re headed. 

This process inevitably leads to:

• Going deep into the data
• Cross-collaborating
• Co-creating

And the result is powerful. 

Executive summaries give the board much-needed background information. Then, you can take advantage of the board’s expertise to move the company forward. 

You can even go a step further by holding standing monthly calls with individual board members. These connect points open up lines of dialogue and help you manage expectations. 

They also serve as a valuable way to leverage the board’s expertise. 

Accomplish high-value tasks like:

• Getting closer to their Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
• Discussing mergers and acquisitions
• Laying out a powerful product roadmap

Be proactive. Figure out what you need from your top experts. And schedule time to get it. 

Step three: Tap into your board’s superpowers

At most companies, the board meeting agenda is over-stuffed with generic updates and half-hearted conversation. 

That’s not the winning formula. 

Instead, focus on superpowers. Namely, what can each board member offer your department heads to help them move the needle? 

In order to answer this question, you have to know the board inside-and-out. 

You have to know: 

• What their superpowers are
• The type of expertise they’re bringing to the table
• How they digest and deliver information

Then, build the agenda around key conversations. 

To facilitate this, move your updates to an asynchronous email or follow-up. Focus your in-meeting time on targeted outcomes. 

One conversation. One takeaway. 

Don’t let another “bored” meeting hold back your business. 

You brought on each board member for their: 

• World-class skill set and knowledge
• Deep industry insights
• Thoughtful approach to growth and sustainability

So take advantage. 

Shift your mindset. Invest time in high-powered prep. And tap into your board’s superpowers to solve critical business challenges. 

Do this, and you’ll take your board meetings (and your company’s revenue) to the next level. 

Till next time,

Andy Byrne

CEO, Clari