Conflict management

Difficult conversations (part I): “what happened?”

We all have to face difficult conversations, i.e. anything that we find hard to talk about, whether in our private life or in the workplace.

The potential harm of anonymous complaints

I very rarely receive anonymous complaints or accusations of inappropriate behaviour or misconduct, but it does happen.

Pivoting: a basketball metaphor for addressing conflicts

Find out how the book The Conflict Pivot by Tammy Lenski uses a  basketball term as a highly visual metaphor for a unique approach to addressing conflicts.

True or false: How much do you know about mediation? (Part II)

Last bulletin, I invited you to test your knowledge of mediation by answering seven questions.

True or false? How much do you know about mediation? (Part I)

The possibility to request mediation when dialogue with a colleague has broken down is still largely overlooked and underused.

How the Ombud can help Doctoral Students

A very interesting article published in 2022 in the Journal of the International Ombudsman Association (JIOA) caught my attention as it examines the specific role that ombuds may play in supporting doctoral students.

The harm that misunderstandings can cause

The origin of the word “misunderstanding” is clear: it combines the prefix “mis-”, meaning badly or wrongly, with the noun “understanding”. So a misunderstanding is when something has been understood wrongly. 

Need to step in to defuse a conflict?

Conflicts need to be caught in their very early stages and can sometimes flare up so quickly that planning mediation by the Ombud is not the most effective way to address them.

The cost of conflicts

Conflict is part of workplace life. It is unavoidable and inescapable because we all have different expectations and needs. There are numerous well known causes of conflict.

The two faces of Janus

When I took on the role of CERN Ombud, I was not prepared to encounter what I now call the “Janus” effect. Let me give you two examples ...