STEM society boards are populated by people trained to verify data, check assumptions, and master the detail. Most of these board members have earned their seat through technical committees, academic prominence, editorial work, or other areas where precision was the contribution. Detail is where they are strongest, so detail is where they focus.

That instinct is an asset the board brings to the wrong questions. This session looks at the levers a CEO holds to redirect it: agenda architecture, board packet design, the chair partnership, and meeting norms. Participants leave able to separate the changes they can make on their own from those requiring the chair or a governance change, with templates ready to apply at the next board meeting. Structured peer discussion is built in.

Learning Objectives

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Diagnose the specific reasons boards default to operational detail, and identify which of those causes sit within the CEO's control.
• Build a board agenda that keeps the board on the horizon, not in the weeds.
• Distinguish changes a CEO can make unilaterally from those requiring board chair partnership or a governance change, and leave with one committed action for their next board meeting.

Attendees will earn 1 CAE credit. CESSE is also a CMP preferred provider.

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Meet Your Presenter

Jonathan Adams, MBA, CAE, AAiP, is a Senior Consultant at Association Management Center in Chicago, where he works with boards and executive teams on strategic planning, board development, organizational alignment, and AI strategy. He helps organizations get clear on their goals and honest about what holds them back. Before joining AMC, he spent a decade at the Water Quality Association, most recently as VP of Innovation, giving him a practitioner's view of the board dynamics he now advises on. He holds the CAE and AAiP credentials and an MBA with a focus in Data Analytics from the University of Illinois. He currently serves on the ASAE Research Advisory Committee.