Unlocking Organizational Insight: The Power of Sounding Boards
Sounding boards are like a gift that keeps on giving. Establishing one within your organization can provide invaluable insights and support for change initiatives, restructuring efforts, and post-M&A integration. Here's how to harness their transformative potential:
1. Assemble a Diverse Group
A successful sounding board consists of a diverse group of employees representing various perspectives and demographics within the organization. Ensure inclusivity by inviting individuals from different departments, levels of seniority, and backgrounds. Put blundly: ensure the group does not only consist of male middle managers, or the overtly friendly ladies from HR. Quite the contrary. the more diverse, the better! Limit the group size to 10 to 15 participants.
2. Foster Trust and Open Communication
Create a safe space for members to express their opinions and provide feedback. Encourage open dialogue and trust among participants to facilitate constructive discussions and promote collaboration.
3. Seek Constructive Feedback
Pose targeted questions to the sounding board to gather valuable insights and perspectives. Topics may include the effectiveness of communication strategies, employee engagement levels, and potential areas of improvement in change initiatives. Please refer to the list of exemplary questions at the end of the article.
4. Maintain Regular Meetings
Establish a cadence for sounding board meetings to ensure consistent engagement and feedback. Monthly meetings are often effective, particularly during high phases of change projects, to stay aligned with organizational needs and address emerging challenges.
5. Rotate Membership
Periodically rotate members of the sounding board to bring in fresh perspectives and accommodate changing schedules. Consider switching out half of the population every three to six months to maintain diversity and encourage new insights.
6. Embrace Diversity and Inclusion
Promote diversity and inclusion within the sounding board to foster innovation and creativity. Ensure representation across age groups, genders, and backgrounds to capture a wide range of perspectives and experiences. A junior employee familiar with innovative tools such as Slack or Asana can provide other feedback and optimization suggestions than a very senior person with 20 direct reports and a background in sales.
Photo by Memento Media on Unsplash
Do you require inspiration regarding issues the Sounding Board can elaborate on? How about:
Was the last all-company call too long?
Did the project sponsor explain the change story well enough?
When shall we host the next town hall and where shall it take place?
Do you have recommendations for employees for the role of a change agent?
Does change fatigue emerge?
Is the change employee handbook practical enough?
Which other issues is the change team not aware of?
Sounding boards serve as invaluable resources for organizational leaders, providing valuable feedback, insights, and support throughout various change initiatives. By leveraging the diverse expertise and perspectives of its members, organizations can navigate change more effectively and drive long-term success.
Sounding boards are like a gift that keeps on giving.