By Teresa Ralicki, Ombuds, University of Colorado Denver

Seeing shredded confidential material from another ombuds office, right in my face, as if to taunt me. Hearing about what it means for a colleague to sketch portraits. Feeling the impact of helping visitor after visitor through a photograph. These were profound experiences for me as I walked around the pop-up art gallery, Experience: On Display, at the IOA conference last year.

Let me backup a bit and share the story of this session’s inception. My first IOA conference was in 2012. I had been an ombuds for almost a year at that point. I was eager to be involved and to become part of the IOA fabric. It felt so good to be a part of this profession after years of struggling to find my way in the conflict resolution job world. Not only had I found a job that I loved, I was brought into the IOA community -- one that shared ideas, offered opportunities for growth and mentorship and, as I quickly came to observe, harbored a boatload of creative talent.

Coordinated by Lisa Neale and Hector Escalante, in conjunction with Cal Caucus, this book club exists to connect the ombuds community to talk about privilege, inclusion, and justice. All are welcome to participate.

The group’s first meeting will be held via Zoom for one hour on Friday, 08 March at 2PM Eastern. The book to be discussed is White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, a New York Times Bestseller. (Dr. DiAngelo is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at #IOA2019 in New Orleans in April.)

The IOA Board recently approved a process for transferring memberships that will be administered by IOA staff effective January 2019. The Transfer of Membership Guidelines emphasize that IOA membership is held by each individual; therefore, an individual can initiate a transfer of membership. Transfers are limited to an individual transferring to an associate within the same organization.

Guidelines for transferring a membership include:

• An email from an existing individual member requesting to have their membership inactivated along with the name of a person within the same organization who will receive the membership
• The creation of a new IOA member record. (The old record will also be maintained.)
• The assessment of a membership transfer fee ($25) for staff time to update the membership record

IOA has published the schedule for its Annual Conference being held April 1st-3rd, 2019 in New Orleans. Pre-conference events begin on March 29th. While some details are yet to be determined, you'll find a variety of session topics and keynote addresses by Jon Lee, Dr. Robin DiAngelo, and Andy Fass. Take a look!  And, if you haven't already done so, register now. See you in NOLA!

View the 2019 Schedule

Register Now

by Mark Patterson, University Ombuds, William & Mary

"Like putting a band-aid on a wound that needs a tourniquet,” the anonymous feedback read.

Ouch.

By Melanie Jagneaux
IOA Vice President

Wow! What a year we just completed! For the IOA, 2018 was huge. It was a year of challenge and a year of change, and one that has presented us with enormous opportunity. Colleagues across the IOA engaged in collaborative dialogues, reviewed and analyzed new opportunities, made important decisions, established structures and ultimately set up the IOA for a banner 2019!

Management Transition

In summer of 2018, the IOA Board initiated discussions to prepare a transition from Kellen to a new association management company (AMC) by the end of the year. As our AMC provides support to all of our day to day operations, making this change would be no small effort.

IOA2019 Conference Registration Open!

New Digital Infrastructure Underway

A Meatball by Any Other Name

IOA Practice Report

IOA Has Chosen SBI as Our New Partner

By Roy Baroff & Lee Twyman
MTTF Co-Chairs, IOA Board Members 

A thorough search for IOA’s new management partner has successfully resulted in the engagement of SBI Association Management of Seattle, WA, USA. In this role, SBI will be responsible for managing IOA’s daily operations, as well as aiding in our transition to a hybrid management model.

SBI is dedicated to operational excellence and relationship building with a client portfolio of 25+ associations. They take pride in an innovative approach to association management and growth, utilizing a combination of smart technology solutions and strong interpersonal connections to ensure their clients’ short- and long-term health. Learn more about SBI’s philosophy, clients, and staff.

By Elaine Shaw, Regional Ombudsman, CO-OP® , Pfizer Inc.
2018 IOA Board Member

It is a loud time in the world, and I am reminded of lines from a poem by Pablo Neruda, “Keeping Quiet.”

…If we were not so single-minded
About keeping our lives moving,
And for once could do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence
Might interrupt this sadness
Of never understanding ourselves
And of threatening ourselves with death….

I recently returned from a trip to India, spreading the good news about our Ombuds Office with my wonderful colleague, Sophia Qiao. It was not a quiet trip. For those of you who have traveled or lived in India know, India can be a cacophony of traffic horns, streams of exotic language and lilting English. In the midst of this, there is the ubiquitous “namaste;” such a peaceful sound to my yogini ears. It was a full and wearying trip, but I was reminded how people everywhere respond to the peace and calm and safety we offer.

by Ronnie Thomson, Corporate Ombuds, Halliburton
IOA Board of Directors

What comes to mind when you think of a mentor? Perhaps someone who is your role model, teacher, and positive influencer for your continued growth and development. My guess is that you may count many mentors over your career or for some of us, our careers. So how do mentors matter? I propose mentors matter in the following important roles:

First, an effective mentor serves as a guide. Ideally, she has the experience in your profession and will help you navigate your way. What kinds of obstacles might you encounter? What remedies and resources exist when those obstacles appear? She’s been there and done that and can encourage you along your path.

Secondly, your mentor is a confidant — someone with whom you can admit what you do not know. He’s the person who will listen to your fears and encourage you when you admit your lack of confidence. He helps you be your true self and you show him what’s behind your facade. He may encourage you to admit when you are wrong, or have made a mistake, and helps you hold your ego together when it’s cracked. He may employ humor and lightheartedness as a reminder to not take yourself too seriously.

Based on a directive from the IOA Board of Directors, the IOA Research Agenda Subcommittee, Shereen G. Bingham, Tyler S. Smith, Shannon L. Burton, and Danita Elkerson, have created a research agenda for the ombuds field.

The agenda is intended to serve as a guide for future initiatives within the IOA related to research, outline the research priorities of the IOA for outside entities, and establish research as a fundamental value to the field of ombuds work.

This article published in the JIOA establishes the importance of the research agenda for the IOA, explains the methodology used to create it, explores areas of inquiry underpinning each of the eight research goals, and discusses implications for the advancement of research on organizational ombuds.

By Sana Ansari Manjeshwar
IOA Board Member

On the impact of including D&I principles in my Ombuds practice…

I identify myself as an Asian, British, American female, raised in Nigeria, England and India, living in Texas and practicing spirituality inclusive of all religions. I used to think that my background represented the image of diversity and inclusion. I was wrong.

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is so much more than the representation of various genders and ethnicities. It means practicing a diverse and inclusive mindset where you are seeking different perspectives in the workplace and providing an environment where each person is valued for his/her/their distinctive skills, experiences, and viewpoints.

By Bruce MacAllister
IOA Board Member

As a part of my service on the IOA Board of Directors, I am co-chair for the Standards of Practice Task Force. Like all members of this task force, I appreciate that the Standards form the core basis for our practice and that there are deep implications to identifying any potential issues with them. Yet my time on this task force has led me to ponder each of the major elements of the Standards.

Through this process, I have compared my own experiences across a long and varied career with those of other colleagues in light of our standard of “Independence.” One common assertion has been that, to comply with the Standards, adequate independence required that ombuds refrain from participating in the social fabric of their workplace. So, activities like meeting a colleague for lunch were out of the question. I have discovered through my own experience as well as observing the practical experience of others, however, that the implications of independence and neutrality become more intricate when practiced in the context of real-life human dynamics.

The expectation that an ombuds is to be viewed as a trusted, competent, respected, and independent member of the risk management community becomes far more complex when evaluated in light of how trust and respect actually form. One might assume that it is imperative to maintain a healthy state of “remoteness” and distance from those with whom the ombuds may need to engage to avoid any perception of non-neutrality. However, when one factors into the equation the key elements necessary to foster trust, effective communication, and an appropriate degree of influence (not over the outcome, but relevant to the need for action) that remoteness can work at cross purposes to building trust and rapport.

by Bryan Hanson, Ombudsperson, The Graduate School at Virginia Tech

Working as an ombudsman creates a sense of isolation at times, especially when you are a sole practitioner within an organization. This is a dynamic that became my reality when I took on the role of ombudsman for a university in a rural community. Throughout my career as a conflict engagement professional, I’ve relied on strong networks to help me through phases of my professional development. Fortunately, I’ve been located in communities that had many experienced professionals with whom I could engage and work on a regular basis. Now that I am in a rural community, I must rely on networks that I maintain from a distance.

As a newcomer to the ombudsman profession, I am finding that access to a strong network of support is critical as I navigate the situations I encounter on a daily basis. However, as I become more focused in my work as a conflict practitioner, I have realized that not only is my geographic location a challenge, the wider community of professionals sharing this role is much smaller. Fortunately, I am finding that my colleagues serving as ombudsmen in other institutions are very open to communication and engaging on a level that provides the needed support to ensure that I remain on the right path.

It is with great appreciation that I felt the need to acknowledge the level of support these networks provide and also to encourage others to foster the networks available to them. To do this I wanted to share my story of network development as an ombudsman in a rural community and hope that it inspires the sharing of other ombudsmen’s experiences with the networks that support them. By illustrating the many opportunities to get engaged with those that can be supportive of our success in our role, this interchange will hopefully benefit others new to the field and those who simply feel they could gain value by expanding their networks.

Were you able to attend Popcorn Share: Discover New Resources to Enhance Your Ombuds Practice in Richmond? It was a highly-interactive session that resulted in the “crowdsharing” of this 9-page Popcorn Share Resource Guide. Within the guide you’ll find a variety of nuggets on coaching, training, navigating sticky situations, addressing systemic issues, and all kinds of professional development tips and tools.

We challenge all ombuds to review the list, discover something new, and comment below with something missed! Resources can be books, movies, assessments, tools, videos. TED talks, articles, ancient wisdom, psychology, brain science, metaphors, images, mantras….

Have some fun with it!

By Diana Mosonyi

A friend of mine came up with the term “ombuds tourist” when I was telling her about my attempt to visit as many ombuds offices in the US as I could. Between November 2017 and February 2018, I took up the quest to find an answer to a seemingly simple question: Why is working in an office where people bring their anger, frustration, despair, bitterness, and tears so attractive? I’d like to share my journey with readers of The Independent Voice, as I believe they might find it interesting and useful as they consider their work as ombuds or paths to the profession. 

By Jim Huegerich, Senior Ombuds, Town of Chapel Hill

We all possess power in two key areas: questions and stories.

Questions are often asked to confirm an assumption, to challenge, or to convince. Imagine if we asked questions to truly learn about one another, particularly about those with whom we disagree or those very different from us? Questions, and the ways in which they are asked, have the potential to transform our interactions and inform how we approach, view, and engage people — particularly those with whom we deeply disagree. Through genuine curiosity we can learn to harness the power of questions to invite understanding and make connections between the asked and the asker. We can learn to:

• discover questions that bridge the gap between differences and help us better understand the situation from differing perspectives
• craft questions in a way that genuinely invites others to respond and elicits fresh, productive responses, particularly in stuck or divided conversations
• avoid questions that close down a conversation during disagreement
• foster awareness of the effects of questions on our perceptions, emotions, and relationships
• create space for people to be real and to own their feelings in fresh ways that help them relate to themselves and others, surfacing possibilities unimagined by people stuck in disagreement
  
  

Stories are important for relationships. We all have a story to tell. The power of story connects us as real people, valued for who we are and where we are in life. Unfortunately, we often feel like we know others — what their stories are, and why they do what they do.  Or even worse, we do not care to know their stories. The challenge is to be willing to create the safety and the opportunity to elicit, then listen to, the story of another person. Allowing others to tell their stories is a gift we give to them.