What IS an ombuds and how can they help me "get unstuck" with challenges and conflicts I face at UT?
The Office of Ombuds Services helps to empower graduate students, staff, and faculty to navigate challenges related to their experiences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In this interactive session, participants will be introduced to a range of free services from the Office of Ombuds Services, our perspectives on conflict as a tool for innovation, and our key approaches to navigating challenging situations.
No challenge too small or too big - we are here to help!
This presentation will also include scenarios of typical challenges brought to the Ombuds, the standards & ethics we follow, and how to access our consultation, mediation, and educational services. 15 minutes reserved for Q&A in this session.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Registration CLOSED for May 8 June 4 session is FULL but accepting folks to a waiting list. Our next planned session will be in early Fall 2024.
Have you felt uncomfortable in conflict? Feel like you want to lash out or avoid the situation altogether? Most people would say yes, and that is absolutely normal. Did you know that not all conflicts lead to destructive outcomes? Instead, many conflicts—when managed well—can lead you and others to growth, innovation, and improvement.
This 90-minute workshop is designed to enhance your personal ability to navigate conflict. You will learn about both helpful and unhelpful behaviors in conflict as well specific “hot buttons” that tend to draw out unhelpful behaviors. This online interactive session provides both in-depth information as well as an interactive debriefing of your CDP survey results. Registration Closes one week before the workshop date.
Starting two weeks before the workshop, registrants will receive an email invitation to take the Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) survey for free . Complete this 20-25 minute online survey no later than the Sunday BEFORE the workshop. (You will receive your digital survey profile report & a Zoom link the morning of the session).
Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
MAY 2024 Registration is CLOSED. We plan to offer another session in Fall 2024 - check back in August for more details.
A Crucial Conversation is a discussion between two or more people where the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. When conversations turn crucial, people tend to follow one of two ineffective paths: they either speak directly and abrasively to get the results they want but harm relationships, or they remain silent with the hope of preserving relationships only to sacrifice results.
This 12 hour virtual hybrid training builds skills for constructively engaging in conflict —rather than stepping over or around it— turning disagreement into dialogue.
What is Dignity and how does it relate to communication & conflict? We all have an inherent value (dignity) that drives our need to matter and belong. Attending to feelings and experiences of dignity is crucial to building relationships of trust and mutual understanding. Violations of dignity are often the root cause of anger, resentment, mistrust, and destructive conflict.
In this session, you will explore the importance of dignity in workplace relationships; discuss how to honor dignity & avoid violations; and strategize ways to uphold the dignity of yourself and others. This interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities.
Objectives: o Understand human dignity as an inherent value and vulnerability at the core of how we find a sense of mattering and belonging in a community. o Examine beliefs and behaviors that honor dignity as well as those that can harm our own dignity and that of others. o Apply these concepts to university workplace scenarios. o Create an action plan for increasing dignity-consciousness to your own workplace interactions.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
~ Now that you've explored honoring dignity, what next? How can you build your dignity consciousness? ~ How can you support others around you in their efforts to avoid temptations to harm dignity? ~ How can you begin to create a workplace that believes in each person's inherent self-worth?
Based in Donna Hicks' Leading with Dignity: How to create a culture that brings out the best in people (2018), this session will briefly summarize key concepts of dignity* and ask you to share your recent efforts in developing your dignity-consciousness. We will then focus on six strategies for fostering the dignity-consciousness of others in campus settings. Topics include: fostering a growth mindset, modeling vulnerability, activating empathy, cultivating trust, & taking responsibility as a leader. This interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities.
We will use breakout rooms for discussion and practice; access to microphone and camera recommended. Attendance via phone not recommended. *Highly recommended pre-requisite: Completion of ombuds' DS- Dignity: A Key to Conflict Management workshop, or having read either of Donna Hicks' books on dignity (at least chapters 1-3 of Leading with Dignity)
Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Struggling with how to effectively assert your needs, opinions, and boundaries? Worried you'll sound rude? Or maybe not be firm or clear enough? Don’t know how to say “this is not OK with me” or feel guilty when you do?
During this virtual session we will:
We will use breakout rooms for discussion and practice; access to microphone and camera recommended. Attendance via phone not recommended.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Are you frustrated with, or challenged by, giving feedback in the workplace? Do you wish for more engagement in workplace feedback conversations? Looking for strategies you can use to support others' growth and career success? We can help!
In this 90-minute virtual session, you will examine the complexity and risks - to all parties- in giving workplace feedback. Framing feedback discussions as a dialogue with both parties giving and receiving, we will discuss your role in building trust and a sense of safety for receivers. We will examine effective communication strategies within these dialogues, such as: clarifying purpose, focusing on facts vs stories, seeking first to understand, communicating intent, and common pitfalls in communication. Participants will practice strategies for starting a safe and constructive feedback conversation and create a plan for improving their workplace feedback experiences. This interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities.
During this virtual session, we will use breakout rooms for discussion and practice; access to microphone and camera recommended. Attendance via phone not recommended for virtual sessions.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
~ Having explored your own psychological safety needs & reactions, what next? ~ How can you support others in your workplace to improve their own feelings of psychological safety? ~ What can you do to create workplace change that strengthens psychological safety for all?
We believe all team members can support and lead efforts to create a more psychological safe working environment. This session will briefly summarize key concepts of psychological safety* and ask you to share your recent efforts in strengthening psychological safety at work. We will then examine key strategies for creating a more psychologically safe working environment. Topics include: appreciative listening, clarifying shared expectations & purpose; pro-active inquiry; destigmatizing failure; modeling inclusivity; & continuous renewal.
This interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities. We will use breakout rooms for discussion and practice; access to microphone and camera recommended. Attendance via phone not recommended.
*Highly recommended pre-requisite - EITHER - Completion of the Working Together in Psychological Safety: Discussions on Belonging ombuds workshop, OR - READ this article: Radecki, D. (2019) Stress Reaction. Association for Talent Development, Vol.73 (9), p.40-45. Available through the UT Knoxville library to logged in users. Contact ombudsed@utk.eduBY THE DAY BEFORE if you need but cannot access this article.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Have you ever felt afraid to speak up or share your ideas for fear of repercussions or causing conflict? Do you feel uncomfortable expressing or being yourself in the workplace? Are you concerned about staff or peers who have expressed similar concerns? You are not alone!
In this virtual session, you will discuss the importance of psychological safety in open and honest workplace communication, take steps to self-assess your own psych safety needs, and learn strategies to engage in respectful dialogue with peers about increasing psych safety in the workplace. Topics include: workplace culture, belonging, interpersonal risk-taking, compassionate dialogue, and the effects of increased psychological safety on workplace effectiveness and innovation. This interactive workshop includes self-reflection, breakout discussion, and action planning activities.
Session Zoom link sent to those registered the day before. Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.
Do you find receiving workplace feedback a challenging experience? Are you comfortable requesting and holding feedback dialogues? What strategies do you use to advocate for your career goals and needs? If receiving feedback is unpleasant, frustrating, or simply missing in your workplace experiences, you are not alone!
Join us for a 90-minute virtual session where we will discuss the receiver’s role in fostering constructive feedback experiences. During this session you will:
Questions or need accommodations? Email us at ombudsed@utk.edu.