February 06, 2018

IOA Pre-Conference Training in Richmond Appeals to Range of ADR Professionals

The pre-conference training programs offered by the International Ombudsman Association in April 2018 is designed to be relevant for a variety of professionals working in alternative dispute resolution. Eight of the nine courses are open to the public and are not limited to Ombuds or conference attendees. (A new core course is open only to people who have completed IOA's Foundations.) The programs include:


April 20-22
Three-Day Training

Foundations of Organizational Ombudsman Practice, Instructors: TBD
This course covers the fundamentals of the organizational ombudsman role. It provides basic information and training for the organizational ombudsman by emphasizing the principles of confidentiality, neutrality, independence and informality. The three-day course focuses on how the ombudsman works with the visitor to the office as well as how they act as a change agent within their organization. The course will allow you to practice key ombudsman skills of listening, asking questions, clarifying, generating options, and moving to actions throughout the ombudsman process. In addition, an experienced and highly committed faculty of ombuds will share best practices around setting up an office and evaluating and communicating the effectiveness of the office.

April 20-21
Two-Day Core Course

Conflict: Theory and Applications for the Organizational Ombudsman, Instructors: Sue Theiss (Ombuds, Oregon State University); Michael Dues (University Ombuds Committee, University of Arizona)
Develop a broader and deeper understanding of the full range of research and theory regarding human conflict. Learn how to apply this understanding to conflict in organizations and the practical applications for both working with specific disputes and helping to improve the organization’s systems and culture for addressing conflict.

April 22
Full-Day Specialty Workshop

Beyond Brainstorming: Developing Creativity Through Improvisation, Instructor: Joe Weston (Author/Consultant, Respectful Confrontation)
This training will offer strategies and easy-to-apply tools to support you navigate more effectively the resistance that shows up with challenging conversations, change and transition and power dynamics, as well as explore self-care practices that will help you build resilience, leading to enhanced performance, time and energy management, integration of mind, heart and body, and overcoming the patterns of burn out and compassion fatigue.

Morning Half-Day Courses

Influence and Negotiation for Designated Neutrals, Instructor: Mary Beth Stevens, CO-OP (Laboratory Ombudsman, Los Alamos National Lab)
Learn skills to influence key people, even in situations where you have no positional authority. Review principled negotiation fundamentals and practice approaches essential to good negotiation practice.

Healthcare Ombuds and Patient-Provider Conflict: Broadening Our Reach, Instructor: Haavi Morreim (Professor of Medicine, University of Tennessee); Howard Gadlin, (Retired Ombuds, National Institutes of Health)
Medical center ombuds typically focus exclusively on staff/employee conflicts, referring patient/provider issues elsewhere. However, patients and families also need neutral, informal, and independent conflict resolution services; and institutions need the system-level feedback that ombuds can provide. This highly interactive session will discuss the benefits, potential avenues toward, and potential barriers to, medical center ombuds' broadening their services to encompass patient/provider issues. Attendees will actively participate in two patient-provider mock mediations, followed by extensive debriefing.

Playing Well with Others: Building Conflict Management Skills Through Improvisation, Instructor: Adam Barak Kleinberger, CO-OP (Associate Ombuds, Boston University)

Learn how to think on your feet, collaborate with others, and really, truly listen. All are welcome to attend this non-traditional, participatory training session that uses improvisation to build the conflict management skills of each learner. Other areas of focus include how to build trust and integrate feedback in order to use this new approach with learners in your own established training sessions.


Afternoon Half-Day Courses



A Research Primer for Ombuds, Instructor: Shannon Burton (University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University)

Many ombuds have “big questions” about their practice, but have not been able to explore them in a meaningful space. In this session, ombuds will have a chance to explore research questions and consider methods. Through the critical friends process, which allows for collegial reflection and sharing of information, ombuds will work together to create a community of scholars to begin expanding their research base and design a strategy for answering their question.

Bullied on the Job: Understanding Distressed and Diverse Visitors, Instructors: Kathleen Canul (Campus Ombudsperson, University of California, Los Angeles)

Bullying in the workplace is destructive to the targeted individual and the organization. The toll of incivility can be ameliorated by effective interventions. Participants in this highly interactive workshop will learn about the types of workplace bullying and the ramifications to the employee and the organization. Additionally, gender, race, and sexual orientation will be explored as "risk factors" to being bullied. A holistic approach to understanding and aiding bullied visitors will be explored.

Manage Conflict/Maintain Ethical Communication Through the Throes of Grief, Instructor: Laura Smythe (Attorney/Mediator/Consultant, Communication Connections)

Grief and stress both impact the ways in which we process information, interact with people, and experience our place in the world. Managing conflict in the midst of grief often feels like an additional burden that is impossible to manage. This workshop will address some key skills we can use both to work within this realm and to role model for others who may need to do so.

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