COOP COOP Informal Problem-Solving & Coaching 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When an ombuds assists a visitor in exploring options, the ombuds should primarily:
- Recommend the option most likely to succeed legally
- Present a range of options and help the visitor evaluate them based on their own goals (Correct answer)
- File a complaint on the visitor's behalf if needed
- Escalate the matter to HR immediately
Correct answer: Present a range of options and help the visitor evaluate them based on their own goals
Option exploration empowers visitors to make informed choices by laying out possibilities without the ombuds directing the outcome.
Question 2: A visitor wants the ombuds to 'just tell me what to do.' The appropriate ombuds response is to:
- Provide a specific course of action to be helpful
- Acknowledge the desire for guidance while offering options and helping the visitor decide for themselves (Correct answer)
- Refuse to engage further since the visitor is being demanding
- Refer the visitor to HR who can give directives
Correct answer: Acknowledge the desire for guidance while offering options and helping the visitor decide for themselves
While the desire for direction is understandable, the ombuds preserves visitor autonomy by helping them think through options rather than prescribing a course of action.
Question 3: Reality testing in ombuds coaching involves:
- Validating that the visitor's account is factually accurate
- Helping the visitor examine assumptions and likely outcomes of different choices (Correct answer)
- Verifying organizational policies relevant to the complaint
- Testing whether the visitor's emotions are proportionate
Correct answer: Helping the visitor examine assumptions and likely outcomes of different choices
Reality testing gently challenges assumptions and helps visitors consider likely consequences of their choices so they can make more informed decisions.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes a 'coaching' role for the ombuds?
- Training employees on organizational policy
- Helping a visitor build skills and confidence to address a concern themselves (Correct answer)
- Supervising junior ombuds practitioners
- Conducting workshops on conflict management
Correct answer: Helping a visitor build skills and confidence to address a concern themselves
In a coaching role, the ombuds helps the visitor develop the capability and confidence to handle their own situation directly.
Question 5: An ombuds helping a visitor prepare to have a difficult conversation with their manager is engaging in:
- Mediation
- Coaching for self-advocacy (Correct answer)
- Formal grievance preparation
- Policy enforcement
Correct answer: Coaching for self-advocacy
Coaching for self-advocacy involves helping the visitor plan, script, and build confidence for a direct conversation, a common ombuds intervention.
Question 6: When a visitor presents only one side of a dispute, the ombuds can help by:
- Investigating to verify the other side's version independently
- Asking the visitor to consider the other party's likely perspective (Correct answer)
- Contacting the other party to get their account
- Ruling on whose account is more credible
Correct answer: Asking the visitor to consider the other party's likely perspective
Perspective-taking questions help visitors see the situation more fully, which often opens new problem-solving options without the ombuds needing to investigate.
COOP COOP Informal Problem-Solving & Coaching 1
When an ombuds assists a visitor in exploring options, the ombuds should primarily: