March 19, 2024
For fifteen years I’ve attended Board meetings at several different schools with different meeting formats. Board members are usually volunteering time, usually during their business hours. And often, we’re not making good use of that time. In the past two years I’ve started to realize how much time is being spent not working in board meetings. In one example, even though we received board reports in advance of the meeting, often a quarter or more of each meeting was spent simply listening to recitations of the board report. Once the data was discussed, about halfway through a given session, the real work began—the question asking, the option generation and weighing and so on.
Current condition
In our dynamic school landscape Boards have to develop and deploy strategy at high speed and with a minimum of extra steps or delay. Heads need to find ways to get more out of Board meetings and out of the precious time when the Board can get to the work of strategy.
Goal
To accelerate the development of strategy at the Board level, Heads can partner with the Board to reformat Board meetings and get more done. They can also use tools, described below, to make it easier to get work done between meetings and to track each piece of strategy as it moves toward tactical execution.
Countermeasure
In previous columns I have shown how to use what we call a Big Visible Information Radiator to get more work done with less effort. The cognitive science of why the information radiator works has been described by Temple Grandin and others. How to actually introduce and leverage an information radiator with your Board will vary by context, but a few suggestions follow.
Action Plan
Align on the problem/opportunity: the first step is to build agreement around having more productive Board meetings. With the support of your Board Chair or other Board members you can make the case for removing low-value time like listening to Board reports.
Sketch the new meeting format and protocol: Once aligned, you can then introduce the new rules or practices to support your improvement effort. This will require the Admin team members to get their Board reports done at least a week before the meeting so Board members can digest the content in advance. Questions about the reports can be queued up in the comments section of your work tracking tool.
The new meeting practices should be communicated early, and anticipate the need for a few reminders while everyone builds the new meeting format habit.
Build the radiator collaboratively: Whatever format your strategic plan exists in now can be easily converted into an information radiator. Doing that as a group is a great way to review your current strategic plan and keep it top of mind, or even to refresh it.
Get the work front and center in meetings: With your work visible and shared in advance you can then use the radiator to guide your meetings, keep the meeting focused, and ensure that next actions and work commitments are made explicit and time boxed, i.e. with clear deadlines for delivery.
Case Study
We use Big Visible Information Radiators to guide Board meetings at the Montessori School of the Berkshires. Board members are able to get updates on the work in real time and at any time of their liking between meetings. We use the cards on the work board to guide our discussions and we timebox agenda items to ensure we hit all the most essential pieces of each strategic item. We continue to hold space in work sessions for the author of each report to give a very brief comment and we make sure to have plenty of questions and dialogue with Board members on each topic. Board members report enjoying the focus and the format. After all, a good meeting is a joy to be a part of — the Board feeling the productivity and clarity of our new way of working makes meetings even more gratifying and energizing. You can do the same. Good luck and feel free to write [email protected] if you want suggestions or to ask questions about implementation.
You may also be interested in reading more articles written by Simon Holzapfel for Intrepid Ed News.
