Dear In Practice,

I have served in my current ombuds role for almost seven years and I’ve decided it’s time for a change - either an ombuds role elsewhere or something entirely different. I’ve updated my resume and cover letter but I’m at a loss as I try to identify professional references who can speak to my work as an ombuds. This is my first ombuds role and I have many excellent references from prior professional roles.

My best work as an ombuds has been behind the scenes with visitors, although I am quite visible and connected with mid-level managers and senior leaders (many of whom have been visitors themselves). May I ask a former visitor to serve as a reference? Should I ask leaders within my organization who know my skills and compliment my work?

Dear In Practice,

I’ve been an organizational ombuds for several years and demonstrating fidelity to the code of ethics is important to me. I am especially conscious of my duty to convey a sense of fairness and impartiality in the way I enact the role. At the same time, I have strong opinions and preferences about local and national political issues, and I care very much about upcoming elections. I believe I also have a duty to be civically engaged.

Dear In Practice,

I spent the past year working with two members of a functional team who, with my assistance, have gone from being avowed enemies to collaborating colleagues. They landed in my office after their supervisor suggested the ombuds office as a resource for their escalating relational tensions.

Dear In Practice,

I have been on Facebook and LinkedIn for years. I’m new to Instagram and I’m having a great time curating my profile and feed. I appreciate how these platforms provide news, information, and easy connections - but participating in social media these days seems increasingly fraught.

Dear In Practice,

I’m confused about what to do when visitors copy or blind copy me on emails without warning or explanation. I respect visitor self-determination, and I typically avoid intervening absent an explicit agreement with the visitor about why and how I would do so.

Dear In Practice,

In my role as ombuds, I regularly offer workshops on navigating conflict, effective communication, and related topics. I love working with groups and have also had occasion to facilitate listening sessions, restorative circles, and other group processes. I see these as important opportunities for capacity building and also as a way to more publicly add value within my organization. Sometimes these services are requested in response to ongoing climate concerns or after a challenging incident within a department. At times, attendance is required. I’ve drawn a line and declined to provide my organization with the names of those who attend these events, but the very fact that I’m working with what feels like a captive audience makes me uneasy. I felt similarly when I was in the academic sector and would sometimes be asked to join a faculty member’s class to lead a restorative intervention with students. Is it ethical for an ombuds to lead or facilitate processes where those in attendance are required to be there?

Celebrating a Year of In Practice

It’s been a year since In Practice published our first column. We are thrilled that what started as a conversation among colleagues has developed into a lively public forum discussing the ethical dilemmas we often face as ombuds. The interest in the discussion is clear as the column’s posts regularly receive the largest readership on The Independent Voice blog.

We were pleased to learn that the column’s contents are prompting important real-time conversations in ombuds program staff meetings, one-on-one mentoring sessions, graduate studies classrooms, and at ombuds-related forums. Engagement was our goal - and we hope for even more going forward.

Dear In Practice,

I have held a range of roles over the twenty years I’ve worked for my institution. Prior to my appointment as ombuds, I was a center director (supervising a small staff,) a student program liaison (supervising students working on undergraduate research projects,) and a faculty leadership development consultant (helping faculty navigate leadership and career progression concerns.) Since becoming an ombuds, I have been contacted by former students, faculty colleagues, and direct reports, asking me to serve as a reference. I feel awkward about all of the requests, although each has its own unique context: sometimes the requester is still affiliated with my institution, sometimes they are not; sometimes the opportunity being sought is internal and sometimes it’s external; sometimes the person asking is someone I’ve supervised and other times it’s someone I’ve come to know through other means. I’ve even had a request from a fellow ombuds, whom I’ve never worked with, to be a reference for an ombuds role they’ve applied for. While I feel flattered that my opinion of others seems to be valued, I don’t know where to draw the line. As an ombuds, are there circumstances under which me providing a reference is ethical and when do I “just say no?”

Dear In Practice,

As an ombuds, I am committed to being non-judgmental and accessible. I firmly believe these values are essential to my work. Still, there have been times when I’ve been faced with a situation where I felt continued services were no longer appropriate or productive. 

Dear In Practice,

I know that customer surveys are considered a best practice in most service sectors. Almost every interaction I have with a service professional (or even a website chatbot) will be followed by a survey about my satisfaction with the provider or my experience. Personally, I find these surveys annoying and seldom respond.

Ombuds Dilemma: Should I be a Brand Ambassador?

Dear In Practice,

In a recent virtual visitor meeting, I looked at my reflection and realized I was not only wearing a shirt embroidered with my organization’s logo but also drinking from one of our organization’s mugs. Thank goodness I had temporarily deactivated the virtual background that prominently features our organization’s logo and which all employees are now strongly encouraged to use.

We hope you have enjoyed the In Practice columns featured in the Independent Voice. If you have not had a chance to read through them all, we invite you to take the time and review the columns posted below. We also encourage further dialogue around these dilemmas and invite your thoughts and insights within the comment section of each posting.

• Ombuds Dilemma: When the Visitor is the Problem
• Ombuds Dilemma: Do Ombuds Provide “Emergency” Services?
• Ombuds Dilemma: Should I list my degree?
• Ombuds Dilemma: Should I stay or should I go?

What’s Your Dilemma?

We recognize that you may have experienced dilemmas in your practice that would be helpful to discuss with your colleagues. In Practice readers are invited to submit their own practice-related dilemmas for possible future publication. Dilemma narratives of under 200 words can be submitted by email to: [email protected]. Please note that dilemma submissions may be edited for length and clarity and are published without attribution. Editors will select dilemmas for publication based on a variety of factors, including relevance across sectors, focus on practice, and the likelihood that the dilemma will engage readers in novel or nuanced analysis of ombuds practice.

Ombuds Dilemma: When the Visitor is the Problem

Over the past year, several visitors have expressed values or views that are absolutely repugnant to me. These visitors usually come in with a familiar organizational concern and then out comes hateful speech. They have come from across the organizational spectrum and include leaders who have significant power and authority.

Their disrespect towards others is expressed in various ways - crude innuendo about how a female colleague got a promotion; racist nicknames; contempt for the ideas, beliefs, or identities of co-workers; and even cruel remarks about a person’s disability.

Ombuds Dilemma: Do Ombuds Provide “Emergency” Services?

I’m a new ombuds and am surprised by how many visitors call my office in a state of distress, with situations they describe as “an emergency.” I feel an internal pressure in those moments to make space immediately on my calendar – space I really don’t have – and I sometimes find myself working into the evenings and on weekends to accommodate these unexpected demands, in addition to my other responsibilities. I no longer have time for many activities I enjoy and that support my health and well-being (like exercising) and calls outside of business hours are impacting my time with my family. I pursued this role because I find purpose in helping others but I’m starting to wonder where the line is between service and altruistic narcissism – I don’t want to cross it.

Emergency Calls as Opportunities

Ombuds Dilemma: Should I stay or should I go?

I’ve been in my ombuds role for a year and would like to remain in this role for the foreseeable future. The president who hired me unexpectedly retired 6 months after I arrived and there have been significant transitions as a result. Just as I was starting to build relationships, leaders started exiting the organization – sometimes I look around the room at meetings and don’t recognize many of the faces. The president’s expanded cabinet (about 40 leaders) has been invited to a two-and-a-half-day retreat at a retreat center in the mountains, about 3 hours from where most of us live. This is the first ever off-site retreat for this group. Many of our activities will focus on planning for the future, and our new president has also been very clear that this retreat is an attempt to help the organization’s leaders get to know one another and build relationships. I’m included in this invitation as a direct report to the president. Should I stay or should I go?

Response 1: Mary Rowe, consulting ombuds

Welcome to “In Practice” a new column edited by a panel of experienced ombuds colleagues. 

Our goal in this column is to elevate ombuds practice by engaging practitioners from all sectors in the analysis and discussion of practice-related dilemmas for which IOA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice do not offer conclusive guidance.