Sounding Board

Sounding Board
Join the waitlist
• Your name stays hidden by default. Relevant peers opt in.

Bring a consequential decision. Hear from a leader who has been there.

Share a difficult leadership situation or ask how other executives have approached it. Relevant peers put their hands up, and you choose whom to speak with for 15 to 30 minutes.

For Australian heads, directors, executives, and experienced founders

Join the waitlist See how it works
Exchange
Practical
Format
15 to 30 minutes
Access
Invite only
Cost
Free
Help others, get help back
⚖️

Learn what experienced leaders actually do

Exchange practical experience from comparable leadership roles and organisational situations.

💬

Bring enough context

A structured ask helps someone understand what you are exploring and offer a useful response.

🎯

Talk candidly

For sensitive situations, an experienced peer outside your organisation brings perspective without internal politics.

When internal advice is complicated

Some decisions are difficult to discuss internally

Senior leaders are expected to provide clarity even while they are still working through the answer. The people closest to the situation may also have a stake in what you decide.

The decision affects your team

You cannot test every option openly with the people whose roles, priorities, or confidence may be affected.

Advice comes with incentives

A board member, investor, executive peer, or direct report may each see the situation through a different interest.

Your own position is involved

It is harder to be candid when the situation involves your CEO, another executive, the board, or your future in the organisation.

You need comparable experience

Generic leadership advice is less useful than hearing how someone with similar responsibility approached a related situation.

How it works

Start with the situation, not a search for the right person.

1. Share your ask

Describe the situation

We review it for clarity, then share it with members. Your name is hidden from the community by default.

2. Peers opt in

Relevant experience comes forward

Members decide where their first-hand experience is useful and put their own hands up to help.

3. You choose

Choose who you want to meet

Accept up to three offers and arrange a focused 15 to 30 minute conversation with each person you choose.

There are no subscriptions or fees. When another ask matches your experience, put your hand up and help someone else move forward.

Who this is for

Experienced Australian senior leaders and executives who want candid, practical input and are willing to contribute their own judgment.

This includes heads of function, general managers, directors, vice presidents, C-suite executives, and experienced founders accountable for teams, budgets, strategy, or company-wide outcomes.

You'll fit right in if:

  • • You hold a senior leadership or executive role and have experience other members can learn from
  • • You have a consequential decision or difficult leadership situation to explore
  • • You're open to sharing context and receiving honest feedback
  • • You're ready to help others in return
  • • You value first-hand experience over generic advice

This isn't for you if:

  • • You're here to pitch, recruit, or sell
  • • You want ongoing mentorship or formal coaching
  • • You prefer to lurk rather than engage
  • • You only want to consume without contributing

Perspective from comparable scope

Useful leadership perspective depends on context. Leading one team is different from leading several functions, carrying company-wide accountability, or reporting to a board. Members put their hands up when their experience genuinely relates to the situation you have shared.

An invite-only peer community

Candid exchange needs clear boundaries

Membership is invite-only and reviewed manually. No pitching, recruiting, or publishing someone else's experience.

Small and relevant

Senior leadership roles can be isolating, especially when a situation involves the executive team, board, organisation, or your own position. Shared context and compatible time zones make conversations easier.

Sensitive asks

By default, members see the ask without your name. Accepted helpers see your identity, and each person chooses whether to share contact details.

Permission matters

Nothing from an exchange is used publicly without the member's permission.

What not to share

Discuss the decision without naming employees, customers, or confidential company information. Peer perspective is not legal, financial, HR, mental health, or crisis advice.

FAQ

Quick answers about how the community works.

You share a work situation or practical question. We review it for clarity, then share it with members without your name by default. Relevant members can put their hands up, and you choose up to three people for 15 to 30 minute conversations.

No. When you post an ask, relevant members can put their hand up, and you choose who to talk to. It works the other way too: putting your hand up for someone else's ask is often how you meet a sharp senior leader you wouldn't otherwise cross paths with, so helping grows your network as much as it helps them.

Yes. Sounding Board runs on a give-and-get model. You help others when you can, and others help you in return. No subscriptions, no fees.

Sometimes you need external perspective with no internal baggage. A peer outside your organisation has no stake in your decision, which means they can be candid in a way colleagues often cannot.

LinkedIn is public, while a large Slack community still means broadcasting your situation and hoping the right person notices. Sounding Board is small and invite-only. Members choose the asks where their first-hand experience is relevant.

Membership is invite-only and reviewed manually. We keep the community small and relevant so members can decide where their experience is useful. No random adds, no mass approvals.

Not unless you choose to show it. By default, members see “A senior leader.” Even if your boss, colleague, or friend is already a member, they will not see your name. Your name is shown only to people you accept for a conversation. Each participant chooses whether to share separate contact details. The administrator still knows who submitted the ask, and your wording may identify you or your company.

Yes. Members arrange a focused remote conversation using whatever works for both people.

Most conversations take 15 to 30 minutes. The asker and helper arrange a time that works for both of them.

A focused conversation with a relevant peer. The goal is a useful exchange, not another recurring meeting.

Example questions, practical experience

What senior leaders and executives could ask about

Bring a decision, a difficult situation, or something you want to compare with people doing similar work.

Organisational change

“How have other leaders changed an organisation without losing the people they most needed to keep?”

Stakeholders

“I need to challenge an executive decision without damaging the relationship. How have others approached it?”

Executive judgment

“Should I hire another leader or change the operating model first? I would value perspective from someone who has faced this.”

Waitlist open · Australian senior leaders and executives · No pitching · No recruiting

Invite-only peer community

Bring one consequential decision. Help one peer.

Join the waitlist for a small peer community of experienced Australian senior leaders and executives.

No pitching. No recruiting. No subscriptions.

Join the waitlist

We review the waitlist as the leadership community takes shape. If it is a fit, we will contact you about an invite.