Our Cat Herder - the board portal for purpose driven organisations.
Meetings
Take Your Board to the Next Level: Powerful Agenda Best Practices
Running efficient, productive board meetings is critical for boards. This article outlines best practices for board meeting agendas that drive impact.
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Board Packs
10 Common Board Paper Problems & How to Fix Them
For board meetings to be impactful, directors need board papers that clearly communicate the right information in an actionable manner. Unfortunately, many board packs miss the mark on delivering materials that actually inform and empower directors. Below we delve into the 10 most frequent complaints directors have about board papers. We provide concrete examples of each issue, explain the resulting negative impacts, and offer suggested solutions to help you to improve your board packs.
Flying Minutes: Uses, Benefits and Risks of Circular Board Resolutions
Flying minutes, also called circular resolutions, allow board decisions outside regular meetings. This guide covers creating, distributing, and recording flying minutes using board software for timely governance.
Ensuring Your Board of Directors is Diligent
Practical tips and strategies for company secretaries, chair persons, and CEOs to promote diligent pre-reading of board packs by board directors
Crafting a Board Paper Policy for Effective Information Flow
A robust board paper policy will help you create better board packs and is essential for ensuring directors receive the right information at the right time to fulfil their duties. In this comprehensive article we provide guidance on developing a board paper policy that will streamline your board papers and board reporting. Follow these tips to help you implement a board paper policy that meets your board’s needs. Why do you need a Board Paper Policy?
Governance
Managing Conflicts of Interest in Non-Profits
Conflicts of interest often crop up on charity & non-profit boards due to connected relationships. Even potential conflicts can damage trust & credibility. Key strategies: develop policies, maintain register, establish culture of disclosure via training, documentation & communication.
Promoting Trust Through Transparency in Board Reporting
Discover how to use board reporting to build trust. Management should define needs, provide balanced insights, verify accuracy, meet deadlines, admit imperfections, reinforce expectations, and listen to feedback to elevate reporting quality.
Board Meeting Etiquette
Board meeting etiquette tips like arriving on time, limiting distractions, listening, and more enable productive governance. Directors should prepare thoroughly, share speaking time, disagree respectfully, reach consensus, and integrate practices from diverse cultures.
Board Members with Ego
Effective Board meetings require self-aware members, clear roles, disciplined focus on priorities, constructive debate, decisive facilitation, and avoidance of tangents, ego, groupthink, and micromanaging.
Who Should Control the Reporting of Information to the Board?
Boards must proactively control reporting rather than passively receive what management provides. Controlling information flow enables oversight, reduces bias, aligns with legal duties, allows setting expectations, and mitigates risks of inadequate reporting.
