The Essentials of Meeting Requirements module was a powerful reminder that meetings are not administrative formalities, they are governance moments. Every meeting is an opportunity to reinforce clarity, accountability, and trust or, if poorly managed, to quietly erode them.
At its core, effective meeting practice is about structure:
Over the years, I’ve seen how inadequate meeting preparation can quickly become the root cause of director confusion, blurred accountability, and ultimately dispute. When directors are unclear on what they are meeting about, why decisions are being sought, or who holds responsibility, governance fractures appear.
Mentorship played a critical role in this development. Working more closely in recent year with a highly experienced General Counsel, I was consistently pushed to think beyond logistics and ask:
These questions now underpin how I work, whether supporting boards, executives, or running my own business.
For Executive Assistants, mastering meeting requirements is a career-defining skill. It elevates the Executive Assistant from organiser to trusted governance partner. These capabilities are transferable across board secretariat work, executive support, committees, and business operations and they are foundational to reducing risk and enabling confident leadership.
Robust meeting systems do more than ensure compliance they prevent disputes, reinforce director responsibilities, and create the conditions for sound, defensible decisions. This is where governance begins.
- Alex