By The Independent Voice Editorial Team

The Independent Voice is going public! We are so excited about the opportunity that we, as IOA members, will have to share insights and information with those outside of the Association who may want to know more about who we are and what we do as ombuds. In preparation for the launch of the public site, we’re hoping to collect posts that we can publish over time once the new site launches. You can help!

We encourage creativity and thoughtfulness as you communicate your own perspectives and experiences through essays, poems, interviews, thoughtful reviews, etc. If you have an idea, but you aren’t sure it would make a good blog post, we’d be happy to talk it over with you. This is a great way to share your voice in a way that can educate and inspire others to appreciate the work we do as ombuds. You don’t have to be a proficient writer, you just have to be willing to draft your thoughts and send them our way (https://www.ombudsassociation.org/ioa_blog_proposal)! 

by The Independent Voice

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read fellow IOA Member Mark Patterson’s article published via Medium.com, I encourage you to take the time to read through Difficult Conversations, Virtually Speaking when you can. The article provides strategies to help us prepare to have meaningful conversation within the virtual platforms we are now heavily experiencing. The article is not only helpful for our own practice, but is worth sharing with your constituents as they would benefit from the strategies as well.

One aspect I found meaningful speaks to the importance of check-ins at the beginning of each meeting. Our work/family domain boundaries are blurred and having time to intentionally shift from one domain to the next can help develop presence in the meeting for all. What strategies do you find helpful in this article? What other articles would you like to share as we navigate this surreal world we are experiencing?