CONDUCT EFFECTIVE
VIRTUAL BOARD MEETINGS
BY LAURA J. WILKINSON, CAE
WISELY APPLIED TECHNOLOGY HELPS ORGANIZATIONS OF ALL SIZES AND TYPES
INCREASE EFFICIENCIES AND MAXIMIZE EFFECTIVENESS. BY ALLOWING THEM TO
PLUG INTO A NETWORK OF INFINITE POTENTIAL, IT ALLOWS ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONALS TO CONNECT TO COLLEAGUES AND AFFILIATES ACROSS THE WORLD
WITH CUTTING-EDGE PUBLICATIONS, RESOURCES AND EDUCATION — ALL OF IT
ELECTRONIC. IT’S NEVER BEEN SO EASY, AND IT’S NEVER BEEN SO EFFECTIVE.
Because it’s so effectively helped associations deliver publications and programs to their members, there now is a growing
movement to extend technology beyond content to governance,
as organizations now are able to move beyond the simplicity of
a conference call and convene their boards in real time through
interactive virtual meetings.
Those virtual board meetings are as fruitful as they are
practical, according to Paul Christians, executive director of
Open Hand Studios, a Chicago-based nonprofit that promotes
social justice with creative media projects and educational
museum exhibits. When it gathers for its bimonthly board
meeting, Open Hand’s board of directors meets not in a physi-
cal boardroom, but rather in a virtual one. As a result, it reaps
all the rewards of high-tech governance, which are available to
any organization that’s willing to invest time and resources in
finding real solutions to electronic challenges.
THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS
One of the biggest benefits of meeting virtually, according to
Christians, is costs savings, as attendees save on travel, lodging,
food and beverage, all of which can make face-to-face meetings expensive.
