The decision-making process for board management is one of governance’s most intricate and critical processes. Boards need to decide what kind of risk they are willing to accept and how much knowledge is required to manage that risk. They must also determine the best methods to communicate with one another, and decide what they will do to make their decisions.

Effective boards avoid binary decision making and put in significant time in the multiplication of possibilities, and challenging assumptions. They also make sure that their decisions are documented in a manner that allows them to look back at their decisions and assess the effectiveness of implementation.

Leigh Weiss says that for high-consequence decisions or what I refer to as black elephants, it’s important to involve a diverse group in framing the most fundamental binary question and in the discussions surrounding it. Weiss is referring to bringing in outside experts to assist the board in understanding the implications and complexity of the decisions. This also requires the board actually engaging in the debate instead of waiting for https://boardmeetingtool.net/board-chair-responsibilities management to make a pre-made decision, and then allowing the board to vote on it.

To ensure that the right person is deciding, it is helpful to have a list of which committees, executive directors and/or the entire board are required to make specific decisions. This is especially useful when the board is considering an important and crucial decision that could affect the organization’s future. Boards should also decide which voting method to use (supermajority or simple majority, or unanimous) for specific decisions.