IOA to Offer ADR Training in New Orleans

The International Ombudsman Association brings three training programs to New Orleans in late January 2018.  The offerings are aimed at novice and experienced Organizational Ombuds, but are open to the public.  Note that enrollment is capped at about 30 for these courses. 

Three-Day Course

January 22-24

Foundations of Organizational Ombudsman Practice

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 course will benefit the recently-appointed ombudsman, individuals interested in becoming an ombudsman, or anyone desiring to establish an ombudsman function in industry, government, higher education, and public or private social services agencies.

Faculty: Tom Kosakowski, UCLA; Donna Louden, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and others to be named.

Full-Day Course

January 25

Working with Groups: Developing Facilitation Skills

Group dynamics can present a special challenge to the organizational ombuds; develop your facilitation skills to better help groups achieve their desired results. Through this participatory, skill-building workshop, you’ll learn to identify which groups will most benefit from these techniques and clarify approaches to use when there is a conflict or a group wants to perform better as a team.

We will examine case studies where groups have improved communication, changed abrasive behaviors, and developed teamwork. Learn how to help the group identify issues, explore options, and clarify their next steps. Participants will practice facilitation skills to prepare for the group process, identify group activities that support participation, and blend varied agenda items. 

Faculty: Rita Callahan, CO-OP, Consultant for University of California, San Francisco, and National Institutes of Health  

Full-Day Course

January 26

Conflict Coaching for Ombuds

This highly interactive session will integrate conceptual and practical insights about conflict coaching, an invaluable process to support decision making and improve relationships. Conflict coaching is training-for-one; a way to better understand conflict and to manage it effectively in any context. We will emphasize both classic and emerging coaching approaches, including peer coaching and reciprocal coaching, as well as programmatic considerations when integrating coaching with other ombuds services and supports. . 

Faculty: Timothy Hedeen, University Ombuds, Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University; and Tricia Jones, Professor, Temple University

The training will take place at the NOPSI Hotel near the French Quarter. (IOA Training Info.)

Related posts: International Ombudsman Association Seeks Proposals for Professional Development Programming.