Ankur Shah Delight

Fractional / External Ombud

Ombuds provide informal, impartial, independent, and confidential services to every person affected by conflict in your organization.Every large organization has them. Most small orgs can't afford one.Until now.

• Why
• Services
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© Ankur Shah Delight. All rights reserved.

Why

The mantra every Ombud lives by is:Informal
Impartial
Independent, and
ConfidentialBut why?The Ombud is in service of the organizational mission.(That's why I only choose to work with organizations whose mission I believe in.)What gets in the way of the mission?Friction.
Conflict.
Confusion.
Disillusionment.We're on the threshold of a major cultural change. Organizations are now realizing that for people to be happy and fulfilled at work, they must be seen as individuals.I call it "Risk mitigation through unconditional love."That's why the Ombuds office appeals equally to the Humanists and the Bureaucrats.Unhappy people:
- File lawsuits,
- Quit suddenly,
- Leak sensitive information,
- Badmouth their bosses,
- Spread gossip... and generally distract from the mission.Unhappy relationships often stem from hundreds (or thousands...) of small sub-par interactions.There are generally lots of warning signs if you care enough to pay attention.Deep listening and conflict coaching can nip a huge percentage of potentially catastrophic conflict in the bud.(As Lao Tzu says: "Confront the difficult while it is still easy")But HR and Legal can't listen impartially and confidentially. They have a mandate to protect the organization.Ironically, it's this mandate that prevents those departments from creating an environment that serves the org's long-term interest.Which is where the Ombud comes in.The Ombud uses the seeds of conflict in every relationship to help the visitor see their own power and potential for growth.The Ombud turns something destructive into something constructive.The Ombud provides an opportunity for every person in the organization to surface anything that is blocking their alignment, allowing for greater collaboration, synergy, and efficiency.The work I do -- as a fractional (or external) ombud -- allows small organizations to have access to a resource that has been prohibitively expensive in the past.If you are tired of internal conflict threatening your mission, drop me a line.

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Services

As a fractional (or external) Ombud, I provide the following services for every member of the organizations I work with:
- Training Sessions
- Conflict Coaching
- Communication Coaching
- Mediation
- Group Dialogue / Facilitation
- Anonymous Feedback on Trends
- Internal Survey Data Analysis
- Compensation AuditsEvery Ombud interaction is:
* Informal
* Impartial
* Independent, and
* ConfidentialOmbuds are not allowed to keep notes or records about interactions.The Ombud does not conduct investigations or take sides.In addition to individual conflict-oriented services, I also offer training on conflict, dialogue, and communication to the organization as a whole, tailored to your specific needs and culture.The point of the Ombuds office is to help the organization accept the inevitability of conflict, and transform our stance towards it.The goal is not to manage, reduce, or resolve conflict. The goal is to transform conflict into a tool that serves the organization's mission.In addition to individual disputes being prevented or settled, the change in culture around conflict allows people to acknowledge their conflicts and differences with much less emotion and identity at stake.If you're interested in exploring how an Ombud can help your organization achieve its mission with less friction and backpedaling, drop me a line.

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