More on Meetings

I’ve reviewed past meeting agendas and meeting minutes for BEST, and this week got to observe an Executive Committee meeting in action. In all of this, I am reminded of the adage that less is more. Current meeting agendas are packed with agenda items, some given as little as 3 minutes time. The majority of these topics are what I consider to be Type A meeting participation, which is to say they have the goal of informing participants and not necessarily well-designed for soliciting input or encouraging dialogue. As I go through my interviews with various Board members, I am hearing a common narrative that Board meetings are efficient in terms of how much is covered, but feel rushed and superficial. These Board members are hankering for more depth of discussion and a feeling that they have been part of a complete decision making process. Indeed, the Executive Committee meeting I observed was an example of a jam-packed agenda that even when rushed still pushed past the allotted time. Some of this is personality driven with many individuals, especially those on the Executive Committee, being verbose external processors whose deep passion for the mission is expressed verbally—as a verbose external processor, I know a peer when I see one! This is a dynamic that will take coaching and practice, which I will encourage, but I think the most effective change I can make is to help leadership see the type of participation they rely upon and the opportunities to intentionally build-in alternative participation types.