Who's Your Sounding Board?
Who’s your sounding board? Who’s that person in your life who will listen without judgment to even your craziest ideas? Who won’t judge? Who offers an objective unbiased perspective?
If we’re fortunate, we have at least one of those people in our lives. If we’re truly blessed, we may have more than one. Our first sounding board may have been a parent or an older family member. For many years, my best sounding board was my dad. He continued to listen and give wise counsel right up almost until the day he died.
In fact, a few weeks before Dad passed, I stopped to see him on my way to interview for a job in another state. I wasn’t sure about it. On the surface, it seemed like a good opportunity, but I had reservations or was I just scared of change. Dad listened as I outlined the position and caught him up on the hiring process so far. After I finished he was quiet for a moment, then with his warm, gentle voice, he said that it sounded interesting, but also risky, and he added, “Remember, you already have a really good job.”
Dad was right. There was nothing in the new opportunity that I didn’t have more of where I already was. Restlessness was not a good reason to change my entire life. And in this case, the opportunity I passed up soured quickly as the head of the company, the CEO who I would have been working for left just weeks after I turned down the offer. The firm reorganized due to financial challenges and there’s a chance my new job, had I taken it, might not have lasted a year. Ninety-four years old and my dad was still providing clarity as my sounding board.
Along with Dad, I’m fortunate to have had many sounding boards in my life — my spouse, family members, friends, teachers, and professional colleagues. I’m thankful for their patience and wisdom as they’ve listened to my crazy ideas over the years.
In turn, I’ve tried to serve as an open and available sounding board for others. Being present and generous with my time and attention is one of the greatest gifts I can give. And we all need someone who will listen to our crazy ideas.
Photo by Rúben Marques on Unsplash
