The sounding board excels in a way that enables you. The sounding board’s inputs are neither correct nor binding – they are perspectives that enhance your thinking.

The sounding board makes you reflect on:

• What is the crux of the issue

• The gap in your thinking

• Your stance

• The consequences

The value derived depends on the space the participants jointly create. More open the space is, the greater the likelihood of uncovering the underlying psychology, framing the issue rightly and taking clear action.

Sometimes the sounding board is sought and stays. Sometimes they appear and vanish. Sometimes they don’t have a label identifying them. What differentiates is not how they appear in your field of play but the difference they made.

When the stakes are high or territory new, a sounding board can play a crucial difference in enabling you — often in ways that are not so straight-line or obvious.

What is your experience.