The Importance of Board meetings to strategic planning implementation

Posted on 31 October, 2021 at 22:49

The Importance of Board meetings to strategic planning implementation

Every organisation has a Board in place that has the role of taking care of the overall well being of the organisation. The Board oversees the operations of the organisation and makes key decisions that affect the organisation at a strategic point of view.

The carrying out of the functions of the Board are governed by a Board Charter. This charter provides guidance on the scope of work to be done by the board, the authority matrix of the board and the number of times they should meet to discuss matters arising that happened in the period that will be under review.

The common practice for most boards is that meetings are held on a quarterly basis and an Annual General Meeting is also held at the end of the year. Though this can be tailor made to suit the specific needs of an organisation, the applicable board charter in place states the frequency that board meetings should be done. It is key that organisation adheres to the set standard of meeting.

When the board meets, they are more concerned about the state of the organisation from a strategic point of view. This means that the discussions held are centered on ensuring that the organisation is moving in the positive direction towards the preset strategic plan. Due to this very reason, this makes the board pivotal in the implementation of the strategic plan.

Most objectives of a strategic plan are long term based and so the board comes in to set short term sub-objectives that if effectively achieved within the preset time frames build to the attainment of the long-term goals. The board meetings then work as a tracking system to measure the progress made towards the strategic plan. If these meetings are held frequently, that is quarterly, then any possible delays can be effectively dealt with and measures to adjust can be implemented thus solving any potential to miss set objectives.

The board meeting can be used as a platform to brainstorm on strategies of implementing the strategic plans in place. It is important that after brainstorming, the board comes up with the agreed strategies that they will implement, the control measures or the tracking system for each strategy to measure progress, the expected results to be reviewed in the next meeting, the person responsible for overseeing that particular strategy and any remedies to be implemented if the strategy has a negative effect on the organisation.

A failure to meet frequently may inhibit the board to ensure that strategic planning implementation is yielding the expected results so it is important that organisations value these meetings.
 
By Cheryl Musumha
Financial Management Consultant Trainee 
www.kfmconsultants.com