Dear Ombuds No. 4

Dear Ombuds,

I'm the president of a student organization, and two people on our exec board are constantly fighting. I think there's something personal between them, but their arguments in board meetings are keeping up from running the organization. Can you help?

Dear Student,

The Ombuds Office can help identify options and resources to address the problem, such as:

• Meeting with the Ombuds to discuss a strategy and tips for helping the team members resolve their differences, keeping the exec board on track, holding effective meetings and role-playing to practice your skills.
• A meeting between the teammates and the Ombuds to discuss how they might resolve their issues or at least keep them from affecting the organization and/or allowing the ombuds to mediate a discussion between the team members. (Note: Anyone meeting or engaged in mediation with the ombuds must do so voluntarily and in good faith.)
• Accessing other resources such as Student Involvement or your advisor.

Here are a couple of tips on how you might address the situation yourself:

• Brainstorm meeting ground rules and a firm meeting structure with your team. Try to reach consensus and ensure everyone agrees to the new rules. The more structured the meeting (e.g., time limits on debate), the less likely one or two individuals can take over.
• Set up one-on-one meetings with eveyone on your exec board and, as part of the meeting, acknowledge the conflicts and ask how they are affecting each student. You may want to schedule your arguing teammates last and, with permission from others you've talked to, anonymously share the impact they are having on the rest of the team. Talk to the two teammates about specific actions they could take to make the situation better and try to get a commitment from them to implement those actions.

For more information  on the Ombuds Office and its resources, visit our website.