Notes on the IOA Annual Conference

It was great to catch up with and meet new colleagues in St. Louis last week. Hopefully, everyone has made it home by now. (Let's hope the weather will be dramatically different in Boston next year!) Here are some of the things that stood out for me:

• Daniel Shapiro's advice to understand and leverage emotions by focusing instead on the five core concerns of appreciation, autonomy, affiliation, status and role (more at BeyondReason.net);
• Howard Gadlin's list of situations that cause him to consult the Standards before acting: strong sympathy for the visitor; an emotional reaction to the situation; past experience with the same facts or visitor; and a visitor's specific request for action;
• David Brubaker's reminder that organizational transformation takes 3-5 years and requires a coalition (more at BeyondIntractability.org);
• Mary Rowe's archive of Crystal Ball presentations (Appendix B to Effectiveness of Organizational Ombudsmen); and
• Growing interest in regional ombuds meetings.

Congratulations those (re)elected to the Board (Nick Diehl, Francine Montemurro, Carolyn Noorbakhsh, David Talbot and Margo Wesley), and to contract organizational ombuds who are eligible now for full membership under the revised Bylaws.

Based on the list of attendees, the links to ombuds offices has been updated to include Walden University, Putnam Investments, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Finally, thanks for all the feedback and encouragement about the Ombuds Blog. Please feel free to forward links to your organizational ombuds website, news of regional meetings, job postings and other material.

(Related posts Balloting Begins for IOA Board; IOA Announces Annual Conference Details; Midwest Meeting of College and University Ombuds.)