Tips for Improving Board Meeting Dynamics

Once you get to the point where your company graduates from working sessions to board meetings, there’s an entirely new set of dynamics you have to learn to navigate. Here are my best tips for founders on how to get the most out of your board meetings, based on my time on both sides of the table: 1/ No big surprises. The purpose of a board meeting is to set the direction and priorities for the company, grounded in the context of what’s going well and what’s not — and none of that background information should be a surprise to your board members during the meeting. If you have news to share, whether it’s good or bad, do it in real time with quick phone calls in between board meetings. This builds trust and allows you to use the meeting time more effectively. I’m also a fan of the pre-wire call a few business days before the board meeting. Set up 30 minute 1:1’s with each board member to run through the agenda and any pertinent business updates before the meeting. Give space for each individual to air any concerns or asks they may have. It helps you get ahead of any hot topics to better manage the time in the board meeting. 2/ Leave room for discussion. There’s always excitement to share a lot of info during board meetings, but you want to avoid having it feel like you’re presenting a book report. No matter how good the materials are, it’s disappointing if you walk away without learning from the viewpoints of your board members. Leave enough time for discussions, questions, and follow ups to create a two-way conversation, rather than just talking at your board. Set the timing for this in the agenda upfront and keep an eye on the clock to make sure you shift to discussion time promptly. You’ll get a lot more value out of your board members this way. 3/ Figure out the right balance between execution and vision. You have to hit multiple notes during your meeting. On one hand, you need to be able to talk about execution and operational precision. On the other hand, you need to be able to speak to your high-level vision and remind your board of the bigger picture and long term goals. The best founders can strike a balance between both. It takes time and iteration to find the sweet spot. One tactic to help accomplish this is to always set the table by recapping the company mission and vision at the start of the meeting. Another way to ground everyone is to include a couple customer anecdotes and stories before you dive into the metrics and performance data. Bookend the meeting the same way, by touching on the company mission and thanking the folks around the table for their roles in that journey. I have a lot more thoughts on navigating board dynamics, so keep an eye out for Part 2 of this post.

CEOs, your impact and influence as a cultural architect trickle down into even the smallest interactions. That means you shape the very bedrock of psychological safety within your organization. Why? There’s a power dynamic in every room. As the leader, you are first among equals, yet your mere presence dictates the power dynamic. Positional power is consolidated in your hands. What you say and do can draw people out or make them recoil with anxiety and fear. Take the opportunity to deliberately design that dynamic. If you induce fear, seek admiration, or allow hierarchy to outrank truth, you abdicate your role. But if you nurture psychological safety to unleash the room, you magnify your role and scale your influence and impact. How do you do it? I have 10 suggestions: 1. Assign someone else to conduct the meeting. Visibly redistribute power by leveling yourself down to be more of a player-coach. 2. Don’t sit at the head of the table. In many physical settings, seating reflects the hierarchy, but you can disrupt those rituals. 3. Create warmth and informality. Create an atmosphere of psychological safety to convey warmth and encourage collaboration. 4. Model acts of vulnerability. You have a first-mover obligation to model acts of vulnerability to give others permission to do the same. 5. Stimulate inquiry before advocacy. If you move from asking questions to advocating your position too soon, it softly censors your team and signals the end of the discussion. 6. Reward challenges to the status quo. If you encourage them, your team can help you see your blind spots and tell you when you’re missing. 7. Push back with humor and enthusiasm. Humor and enthusiasm inject excitement into the process and encourage rigorous debate. 8. Buffer strong personalities. Your job is to create a shame- and embarrassment-free environment. 9. Listen and pause. When you do this in the presence of other members of your organization, you send a clear message that the individual matters. 10. Give highly targeted praise and recognition. Don’t withhold or be stingy with it. I'm curious, what would you add to the list? How are your leaders intentionally creating psychological safety in their interactions with others? #psychologicalsafety #4stages #leadershipdevelopment

Ever walked into a board meeting and felt the energy shift because everyone came prepared? That’s the power of intentional preparation. One of the most common challenges I see with boards is lack of preparation before meetings. It’s not about the willingness to contribute—it’s often about not having the right tools, information, or clarity beforehand. But here’s the thing: when board members come prepared, the conversations are sharper, the decisions are smarter, and the outcomes are far more impactful. In my experience, enhancing board preparedness isn’t just about sending a board pack and hoping for the best. It’s about fostering a culture of engagement, leveraging the right tools, and setting clear expectations. Here are a few strategies that I’ve found to work wonders: 📋 Comprehensive Pre-Read Materials: A well-organized board pack with key documents, sent at least a week in advance. 🤝 Pre-Meeting Engagements: One-on-one conversations to align on priorities and address potential concerns. ⏰ Clear Expectations: Providing a detailed agenda with objectives and time allocations for each topic. 💻 Tech Tools: Board management software to centralize materials and enable pre-meeting discussions. 🤔 Encourage Preparation: Advising board members to dedicate time for review and ask questions ahead of time. When you pair these strategies with a culture that values active participation, you unlock the potential for transformative board meetings. What’s one strategy that has helped your board stay prepared and engaged? Share your insights in the comments—I’d love to learn from you! #BoardLeadership #Governance #Preparedness #LeadershipMatters #EffectiveBoards

If you’re a founder meeting with board members, and you don’t want to get slammed with questions about the health of your company, don’t wait until the meeting to share updates.  This comes from a place of love + some frustration… First off, you should be sending frequent, and thoroughly written updates routinely to keep everyone in the loop. That way, when you get to the meeting, everyone’s up to speed. Otherwise, you spend the entire time addressing concerns, and/or putting out fires. Board meetings are more productive when they’re spent strategically. Before you go in, do some prep work: - Anticipate any looming questions the board may have - Answer them upfront along with a general update to begin - Direct the attention to something important and/or that you need advice on Plan the meeting around topics that will help you make decisions, take risks, or grow. Use the space to explore ways of moving forward. And end each meeting with thoughts on what will be discussed at the following session, so that your board members can prepare and be constructive on the next go around. We work with a lot of young founders at Mantis Venture Capital to help them improve their board presence. Alignment makes all the difference. Remember - the board is there to take you to the next level. Not to hear a recap of the quarter, and pick it apart in the process.