An Oom-buds-what? An Ombudsman is a person who listens to a group’s complaints, processes them, then helps to figure out a way that an organization can solve problems.

Quite often there is no solution and this must be conveyed to the group. This is not an easy job, but at least the group is getting their answer. Usually the group just wants to understand the reasoning behind the answer and make sure that they approve of the decision making process. Other times the group may not like the answer and may want a different response. It’s up to the Ombudsman to try to solve the issue to the best of his/her ability.

Wikipedia’s description serves as a good reason why every company could use an Ombudsman:

“One particularly important function is to pick up “new things” — that is, issues new to the organization. This is particularly important if the “new thing” is “disruptive” in the sense of requiring the organization to review and possibly improve its policies, procedures and/or structures.”

I’ve talked about the benefits of hiring a Work Happy Manager, and an Ombudsman would be just as beneficial. The Work Happy Manager could be proactive in creating an enjoyable environment and the Ombudsman could be reactive in making sure that the employees are happy with the decisions that are taking place within the organization.

An Ombudsman could help a company see mistakes from the employees’ point of view. Let’s say a company tries to restructure the organization, and perhaps an employee sees a potential problem, but they are afraid to tell management. Employees are more likely to see a different type of problem because they are closer to the day to day operations. For instance they might recognize that a group of customers could become neglected by the restructuring. This employee could voice his opinion to the Ombudsman without fear of being fired or discovered for his dissenting views.

One of the most important roles of an Ombudsman is to be completely private about all matters. This is crucial to gaining trust between both management and their employees.

I know that I would love to have an Ombudsman at my company. How about you?

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I’ve been Netflixing the TV show Scrubs on DVD. What a great show! My wife and I finished season one and we were watching the bonus material. Donald Faison (Chris Turk) was being interviewed about the show and he said that the set only had one rule…

Don’t be an A**hole.

“When someone says that if you are an a**hole you are not going to be here for very much longer, you’d be surprised how much nicer people will be.”

I think we need to implement this rule at every company.

Anyone who has worked in human resources knows that the people who stay with a company are usually happy, communicate well and are liked by most of their co-workers. They don’t cause trouble, they encourage teamwork.

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Being a man in today’s workplace isn’t easy. There are always more unwritten and official rules that we must follow. What was okay a year ago might have changed, but I believe the core principals of being a man in the workplace haven’t changed.

The core principals of being a man at work are timeless. I’m not talking about honor and draping your coat across copy toner that spilled on the floor. I’m talking about values that every man should possess in the workplace.

Here are the 12 ways to live consciously as a man at work:

1. Thinks Outside the Box

A man is able to think outside of the normal range of choices to find the best solution. He doesn’t keep going back to the same idea well, using old resources to solve a new issue. He dedicates himself to constantly create and has a willingness to listen to other people’s ideas no matter what level they are within the company.

2. Not Afraid to Make a Mistake

A man who isn’t afraid to make a mistake will be more willing to take a risk and win big. To be a great co-worker or boss a man can’t just do what is expected; he needs to try things beyond his comfort level and fail. Then use those failures as a way to make himself and the company better.

3. Gives Others Credit

He won’t take credit for other people’s work. If he would he knows that it will come around to bite him in the butt (Karma). He makes sure that no matter how good the idea is, he informs the powers that be that he supported the idea, but didn’t come up with it on his own.

4. Regulates His Emotions

A man understands that emotions are a part of working life, but he never ever lets them dictate his choices. He knows how to control his emotions so he doesn’t blow up at a colleague or staff member. All emotions pass and there is no reason to take out frustrations on someone that deserves to be treated with compassion.

5. Trusts Others

A man knows he can’t do it all alone. Whether he runs a one man business or is a CEO of 5,000 employees, when he needs help he asks for it. He trusts that the person he asks will do a good job. If a person or company fails him, he lets them know and if it happens more than twice he lets the employee go if necessary or takes his business else where.

6. Confident

A man trusts his own choices. He uses logic to ascertain the situation then trusts his instincts to come out on top. If he fails, he acknowledges it and moves on to the next pressing thing on his list.

7. Believes What He Says

He makes statements he believes in. He won’t make up information to cover his butt and he sure won’t say that he believes in an idea when he doesn’t. He isn’t afraid to put himself on the line for a good idea, but refuses to go along with a bad idea because the rest of the group wants him to.

8. Looks People in the Eyes

A man always looks people in the eyes because of rule # 6. He is confident in who he is and isn’t afraid to show it.

9. Respects His Superiors but Never Kisses Butt

A man respects his boss’s choices, but never kisses his/her butt to get ahead. If the boss has a bad idea he may voice his opinion, but doesn’t pout as he continues to work on the project that he doesn’t believe in. He knows that he isn’t perfect and neither is his boss, so the boss must be given leeway to make mistakes too.

10. Makes Quick Decisions with the Information He Has

A man gathers the best information that is at his disposal and makes the best choice he can with the information that he has and never looks back. His choices are only as good as the information that he has, so if he makes a mistake he doesn’t beat himself up because he tried his best to make a good choice.

11. Listens to Co-workers Opinions

A man listens to his co-workers before he makes a decision. He believes that there should be input from all levels before a project goes into effect. The collective mind is smarter than any single individual. But if they don’t like what he says then he must weigh out their opinions. If he still believes in his idea then he must go with it; hopefully everyone else will understand his choice.

12. Increases His Wisdom

Every great man improves at work by researching better ways to do his job, whether it be through classes, mentors, conferences, or reading a book. He does it to constantly improve himself and become more valuable to the people who depend on him.

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Steve Pavlina wrote an article “How to Be a Man,” which inspired this article. He also threw a gauntlet down on writing a post about “How to Be Woman,” so I took the challenge. You can read my article “How to Be a Woman at Work” right here and don’t forget to check out the comments where I got beat up by some of my readers and defended by others. It was a cool discussion.

With that being said, all of the traits could also apply to women. That’s the beauty of this day an age. The barriers and mental boxes aren’t as strict. We are growing as a working culture. We still have a long way to go, but I love the direction we are heading.

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