Board Management Decision Making

When a board makes a decision, the goal is to make sure it’s in line with the organization’s long-term goals and is based on evidence. This requires gathering information from a range of sources, including https://boardmeetingtool.net/board-chair-responsibilities industry reports, employee surveys as well as competitor analysis, and other data points that help support the decision. It is also important to weigh different alternatives and decide which is most likely achieve the desired result.

Board members must be aware of the alignment of a proposed course with the vision and mission of the business, as well as any legal or regulatory requirements. Furthermore, Board members should be aware of the potential risk associated with the decision and ensure that the board’s risk tolerance is considered when making the decision.

It’s also helpful for boards to utilize methods that can help avoid groupthink, like brainstorming, Six Thinking Hats, Disney Planning Method and Delphi Technique. It’s also beneficial to assign informal roles to certain Board members such as “devil’s advocate” to challenge the ideas of others and help generate an array of ideas.

Boards can also decide on how and when to inform members of coming votes. This lets them spend the time needed to consider and discuss the information before voting, as well as allows them to ask questions and formulate alternatives. This also helps reduce the fatigue of board members. In the past, I have been a part of situations in which urgent information has been provided to boards before they are required to take a vote which can delay the decision-making process and hinder the final decision.