Board meeting self-check
Reflect on recent board meetings and identify what helps, or gets in the way of, useful discussion and follow-through.
- Two pages
- Fillable PDF
- Free for boards and their staff
When this helps
Meetings are busy, but it is hard to tell whether they are helping the board decide.
A vague sense that meetings could be better is difficult to act on. Looking at recent packets, discussions, and decisions can reveal a more useful pattern—and give the board something specific to change.
What’s inside
Look at the meeting through the work it needs to do.
01
A view across recent meetings
Look at preparation, deliberation, decisions, and follow-through using the same prompts.
02
Room for different experiences
Compare what people noticed and where they need more information before rushing to a common score.
03
One improvement to try
Choose a practical change, agree who will make it, and decide how the board will know whether it helped.
Putting it to work
Use recent meetings to start an honest conversation.
Reflect before comparing answers
Invite directors to look back at preparation, discussion, decisions, and follow-through using the same prompts.
Explore the different experiences
Use examples from actual meetings to understand why people saw things differently. The score is a starting point for discussion.
Try a change the board can notice
Choose a practical improvement, agree who will help make it, and return to it after the next meeting.
Download the checklist
Find a useful place to begin improving meetings.
Bring the self-check to the people around your board table. Use their different experiences to decide what deserves attention.
- A practical starting point for your board
- Free for boards and their staff
Board meeting self-check
Tool · Fillable PDFWant help putting these ideas to work?
A resource can give you a starting point. We can help with the questions and conversations behind it.