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

Dear Colleague, may I ask several questions to assist with your decision making?

Q. Do I understand correctly that there will be 40 attendees? If so, this is a sizable group …. which makes me think that it would not look as if you were being asked to decide anything on your own. If the retreat is announced publicly, I hope invitees are described as you described them, as groups.”

Q. Will there be opportunities for you to introduce yourself and your office? If so, then attendees are likely to treat you respectfully as a wise, impartial colleague.

Q. Are you concerned about voting on specific plans? If so, can you absent yourself when voting begins? (I would not wish to be recorded as an “abstention".)

Q. Are you concerned about being asked for your opinions and knowledge? If so, might you offer good, general ideas, consistent with IOA’s Standards of Practice, and as “options to consider?” 

Q. Might you be able to act as an impartial facilitator—perhaps in small group discussions? If there are fierce conflicts at the retreat, your self-identification as an impartial might be helpful. Would you feel differently if you were invited as a facilitator? 

Response 2: Thomas Zgambo, retired ombudsperson at IMF

In short, yes. I have been in similar situations and have found my attendance at such meetings to be helpful to the ombuds office and to the organization.  It can be an opportunity for you to understand the interpersonal dynamics of the leadership group and gain insights into how you might communicate or provide feedback effectively.  It is also important that the other leaders see how you interact with the President (head of the organization) especially if you have a good working relationship.  Make sure you know what the President is expecting of you at the retreat, given your unique role.

What might be important here is a chance to communicate, through how you interact, the function’s independence and neutrality.  You should be ready to facilitate a session, if asked, provided you have the skills. It would be important to make sure the President, your boss, properly introduces your role or, if given the opportunity to introduce yourself, make sure to completely describe your role as it relates to the organization and how you interact with leadership.  This will be especially helpful to newcomers who are in the process of learning the organization.

Response 3: Vivian Hsu, Ombudsperson, Mount Holyoke College

Well…great ombuds answers begin with “you have options.”

It’s nice that you’ve been asked to attend and doing so could be a valuable opportunity to observe other attendees and their relationships, become informed about their work and workstyles, and highlight the ombuds role. Sometimes we don’t want to say “no” to such an invitation, so we say “yes and…”  Your “and” would be a clarification and agreement about expectations regarding your attendance, taking steps to emphasize that your participation is intended to build relationships with the attendees to further the mission, values and interests of the institution, as well as to construct pathways to organizational partners for the ombuds work that you do, and not to engage in decision-making. You can recuse yourself from activities that require you to participate in decision making and, instead, offer direct feedback to the president during a one-on-one.

The key is to maintain boundaries – staying in the ombuds lane and being independent and impartial. All the better if you can engage with participants during the retreat without giving anyone the impression or understanding that you are aligned with a particular person or group. These efforts will help you remain a trusted and trustworthy resource.

Our Next Ombuds Dilemma: Should I use my professional credentials in my email signature?

I am an attorney who has been working in the ADR field for more than a decade - and as an organizational ombuds for the last several years. In my email signature and on my business cards I use the postnominal, “J.D.” I work in academia where terminal degrees are the “coin of the realm,” however at times my J.D. seems to have created specific expectations on the part of visitors or leaders within my organization. As an ombuds, would it be better to not include this mention of my law degree? I have the same question about other credentials - such as LCSW and coaching certifications.  Are those best left off signatures and business cards as well?  Should I terminate my terminal degree?

We invite you to respond to this dilemma with your insights, perspective, and guidance. Responses - which must be under 250 words - can be submitted by email to [email protected]. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. In our next column we will share a sampling of your responses and again provide a space for public comment and discussion.