Journal of IOA: Managing Professional Conflicts Between Ombuds

The latest article in the Journal of the International Ombuds Association is "We’re Human, Too: Conflict Among Ombuds." The authors are Tessa Tompkins Byer, the University Ombuds at Clemson University, and Scott B. Cantor, an Ombuds for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. They explore the underexamined issue of conflict between Ombuds professionals and provide practical strategies to normalize and manage these disputes effectively. The full article is now available online.

Here is the abstract:

Ombuds professionals are skilled in helping others navigate conflict. However, ombuds also experience conflict, and they even experience conflict with each other. We explore the phenomenon of conflict among ombuds, a topic largely underexplored and absent from current scholarship. Drawing on conflict theory, organizational psychology, and the International Ombuds Association’s guiding documents, we examine how ombuds can manage conflict with other ombuds. We outline practical strategies, including applying the conflict resolution tools we teach to our visitors, cultivating psychological safety and resilience, receiving support from other ombuds, setting boundaries, and deciding to submit a formal report. We identify techniques other professions use when experiencing conflict with each other, and we make recommendations for future research and data collection. We hope to normalize the fact that ombuds will experience conflict with each other, and they are uniquely equipped at managing those conflicts and getting back to the important work at hand.

(JIOA 2026.)