leadership, management

Jan 17, 2017

NC State Faculty Ombuds Office – First Annual Report

  The NC State Faculty Ombuds Office is relatively new after opening its physical office space in late February 2015,  The office was the fruition of many years of effort by the Faculty Senate working closely with leadership across the university. Thus, the office is pleased to report that it recently published its First Annual Report covering…

Jan 2, 2017

It’s All About Options

In November I added a short video explaining the role of ombuds (check out the home page link Video Explanation) that discussed the idea of developing “options” as an important role of the ombuds.  This concept also fits well with noted dispute resolution author Bernie Mayer (and others like William Ury) who explain that conflict intervention roles…

Nov 16, 2016

Interview with NC State Faculty and Student Ombuds

  Check out the recent interview with the NC State Faculty and Student Ombuds that appeared in a recent newsletter from the Provost.  Here’s the link: Interview

Oct 25, 2016

How Can the Faculty Ombuds Help From a Leader’s Perspective ?

  As I meet faculty leaders across campus and explain the role of the NC State Faculty Ombuds, I ask them to think in terms of – What can the Faculty Ombuds do for you?  Specifically as it relates to leaders, let me explain. Recently in a meeting with faculty leaders, I asked for a show of hands –…

Sep 15, 2016

Negotiating in the Workplace – Part II

  Here’s the rest of Jeffrey Krivis’ Top Ten Workplace Negotiation tips. (Take a look at 1 – 5 from 7/14/16). 6. “Learn to ‘read minds.’” – According to Krivis, “mind reading is not magic;” instead it is observation and intuition combined to help you get a sense about the people engaged in your conflict and…

Aug 2, 2016

The Ombuds Role – Conflict Engagement with the Conflict Paradox

  I recently heard a keynote address by Bernie Mayer outlining his thinking on how we (people with conflicts and those that seek to intervene and help – meaning everyone!) think about conflict. Mayer is a longtime mediator and thinker in the dispute resolution field and recent author of “The Conflict Paradox” (Wiley & Sons,…

May 23, 2016

Marketing Plan – Communications Students Lead the Way

NC State is the “Think and Do” university (among other things) and for this semester I’ve been doing just that with four students in the Communications Department.  I was invited by Professor Jessica Jamison to work with students in her Public Relations class and for the NC State Faculty Ombuds Office to serve as a client organization…

May 4, 2016

Canada Ombuds Promote the Fairness Triangle

  As previously posted, I attended the International Ombudsman Association Annual meeting last month and wanted to share the Canadian understanding of Fairness. A panel of four Canadian Ombuds shared the stage and noted that as government ombuds, each had a mission to promote fairness for citizens served. As a result, the concept of the…

Apr 25, 2016

International Ombudsman Association Annual Conference 2016

I attended and presented at the IOA 2016 conference a couple of weeks ago in Seattle with over 400 attendees. There were several excellent keynote speeches including one by noted conflict resolution field author Bernie Mayer. Mayer explained that dealing with conflict is all about dealing with paradox. His recent book – The Conflict Paradox –…