Caveat that this review is at the very beginning of my journey with Sidebar - I have literally only completed the first group meeting as of 02 June 2023. However, I joined a different group designed for women in late 2020 that I was a little disappointed with. I can already see HUGE advantages in Sidebar's approach, particularly with the tech supports.
Most exciting to me was the meeting experience! They are using a bespoke solution inside of their community and at the top it has this outline of the meeting agenda with planned time for each activity. In real time a little gauge is moving across to show everyone where we are now and how much time is left for that activity. Like, WOW! I want this for ALL of my meetings! On the human side, our facilitator was phenomenal! In the other group I had joined we were each "taught" to facilitate and took turns throughout the year. That had very mixed results and Sidebar's dedicated group facilitators was actually a key reason I was willing to try this concept again. Chase did not disappoint - he's amazing! The Sidebar team clearly has a good process on the human side of things too.
I was also impressed that once I was matched to a group a special space opened up for us where we could clearly see the milestones for the entire journey ahead and link to materials already made available to us. There were also all of the standard features whereby I could see the group members and our group chat, open new chats with 1 or more members, control notifications, etc.
Overall we're off to a strong start and I am truly looking forward to the journey ahead. I'll be sure to update this review as I become more familiar with Sidebar and their complete offering.
Sorry for another tactical question but have you all looked into whether Sidebar can be a tax-deductible expense for companies? I just think that L&D arms of companies have been investing in the same paradigms for a while -- love that there could be a fresh new avenue for them to explore.
As a community leader that has always believed in building your personal "Board of Directors" and bringing peers together to learn from one another, I'm proud to be a brand ambassador and super fan. Sidebar is a great concept with a great product & customer experience, and a great team behind it all.
To all my Product friends, you should definitely check this out!
Congrats on the launch! Love this!
Two questions for you all:
1. What is your application criteria?
2. Is Sidebar a mobile app or should we think about it differently?
Thank you Russ, both great questions!
1. To apply for Sidebar, we require that you are a senior leader with 10+ years of professional experience, have been in a leadership role for 2+ years, and are currently managing a team of at least 10 people. Alternatively, if you are a founder who has started a company that has shown traction, you are welcome to apply. In addition to these criteria, we look for individuals who show a drive for personal growth and are eager to contribute to the community.
2. As for how to think about the platform: Sidebar works wherever you do. You can log in on our website or by using the Sidebar app on your iOS mobile device.
I joined them a month ago and loving my experience. It’s great to have a group of peers I can speak to about my professional growth. I am always look forward to my next call with my board of advisors.
Interesting concept. I see so much on exec coaching fronts but when I hear about people feeling supported, I hear mostly from people who have been in coaching "circles" and the value of talking with a small group of people with similar experiences. Love seeing you guys run with this concept.
Quick question - do you have instances where employers reimburse the expense of Sidebar for a team member? Or pay for it for them outright? If Sidebar delivers results, I could see this being something companies could be interested in providing for employees.
Congrats on the launch, Lexy and Sidebar team! The focused on curation, vetting, and matching to create a "Personal Board of Directors" is a brilliant concept.