Part of IOA's current and continued strategic work is ensuring that “Ombuds have the capacity and tools to position themselves as essential contributors and trusted advisors in their organizations.” A lot of our work at the board and committee level has worked to equip our members in accurately and appropriately identifying our value and uniqueness for our visitors, organizations, and the broader world. We often accomplish this through our educational programming. 

With that in mind, I’ve been thinking a lot about our annual conference this year. For many in our community, the periodic virtual conference allows the opportunity to participate and connect in ways that they wouldn’t be able to, whether because of distance, funding, or circumstance. 

Throughout our keynotes, our concurrent sessions, and connecting in Gathertown, attendees were engaged with the thought leadership in our Zoom rooms. Those who were able to attend agree. A preliminary review of the conference feedback shows that people enjoyed the conference, even though, as a community, we have a preference for gathering together in person.

Thank you to our Conference Committee, who delivered outstanding programming with care and thoughtfulness. Huge thanks to our conference co-chairs, Diana Wu and Lori D’Angelo, for their dedication and leadership. Well done, everyone!

In addition to our IOA conference,  Liz Hill and I wanted to take advantage of our simultaneous leadership of IOA and the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution by creating and crafting the bridging event between our two annual events. It was wonderful to see so many folks engaged and participating in our group facilitation and education tracks. IOA members Nathalie Thompson and Fred Wright created fantastic sessions with their ABA counterparts. Thank you to everyone who attended, supported, and facilitated these meaningful sessions. 

I’ve also been reflecting on two sessions from the conference: our Practice Edge session and our Mary Rowe keynote. 

As part of our Practice Edge session, I appreciated Mary Rowe’s thoughtful and provocative conversation and “flipping the script” in the ways we think about risk—there is risk for our visitors in reaching out to us. How do we manage and recognize that well? And what about all the good ideas visitors share with us? How are we elevating them? And of course—all of this is framed within the context of the function of the ombuds, our dual mandate, and our identities. There is so much more to think about there and it was a good warm-up to this year’s in-person September Symposium, which focuses on reframing power and influence through the lens of Ombuds practice and identity. Please join us September 30th through October 1st  in Washington D.C.

The central message of Paul Soutudah’s Mary Rowe keynote resonated: continuing the work to protect and promote the profession so that we become so ubiquitous and woven into the fabric of the broader world, that we are known and recognized just through the word ombuds.  

Paul offered some suggestions for how we can continue that work, including trademarking Ombuds and reminding us of the power and strength in the many. It was heartening to hear his suggestions because they align with significant work that the Board and the IOA’s Executive Director have engaged with on both fronts over the last few years. 

In the last three years, we have had multiple conversations with IOA’s legal counsel about trademarking ombuds or organizational ombuds as part of work done to trademark “International Ombuds Association” after we changed the name of our association. We’re balancing multiple risks, including previous and current legal advice that we are unlikely to be successful because the term is too generic to mark, the cost involved in pursuing the mark, and if we successfully trademark Ombuds or Organizational Ombuds, the resources required to monitor its use and defend it.  

The shared interest remains the same regardless of the trademark discussion: our desire to become so well-known that everyone immediately understands what organizational ombuds means. If a trademark isn’t the right/best vehicle for that, the work to gain that shared understanding remains the same. You can see this desire and focus reflected in our past three strategic plans as well as our next strategic plan. Much has been done, and there is much work still to do. 

Similarly, as part of our evolution as a separate and distinct profession, our focus has appropriately and understandably been on what makes us unique. There is much we share with our classical and advocate ombudsperson colleagues. The concept of a trusted individual or body of individuals vested with the ability to occupy the in-between as advocates for fair process, organizational/community health, and effective conflict management and resilience has existed since we humans began forming communities. Over time, that concept coalesced into “ombudsman,” and the organizational ombuds is a branch that springs from that tree. We are united in purpose, even though the execution and authority of our roles are different. 

With that in mind, much work has been done over the last four years to establish and re-establish relationships with organizations like the United States Ombudsman Association, the International Ombudsman Institute, the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman, the European Network of Ombuds in Higher Education, the Brazilian Ombudsman Association, and countless others. Admittedly, the work is not always visible and can feel incremental. But the work continues and is vital. 

As I close this reflection, I am grateful for the incredible thought leadership from our colleagues and I leave with three guiding ideas:

1. We function effectively within our organizations so that the fullness of our dual mandate can be met.

2. Our role is so well understood within the broader world and community that just saying we’re ombuds is enough for anyone to understand our value and what we do.

3. We will always get by with the help and support of our friends. Despite our differences, we are united in an underlying purpose with our classical and advocate colleagues–we stand at the center of fair process, healthy organizations, and effective conflict management and resilience.

Long may we be reflective and united!