Spoken In Confidence

Chuck Howard is widely recognized as the leading legal authority on ombuds confidentiality in the United States. His introduction to the profession began in 1990, when he was retained as independent counsel for a multinational corporation's ombudsman office in a federal court case with almost no precedent to draw on. He won, asserting an ombuds confidentiality privilege grounded in Federal Rule of Evidence 501 and an implied contract of confidentiality, and that case became a seminal one for the profession.

That win led to decades representing ombuds clients and organizations across the country and internationally, defending litigation and helping build ombuds offices from the ground up. Chuck eventually became the inaugural Executive Director of the International Ombudsman Association, helping shape the standards the profession still relies on today. He's also the author of two leading books on organizational ombuds, published by the American Bar Association, drawn from his experience advising programs at every level, including building one himself as general counsel of a large Connecticut law firm.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Chuck Howard

Read Chuck's full bio

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Learn more about OmbudSana

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Key Takeaways:

• Early in his career, Chuck caught a partner in malpractice and had no confidential place to raise it, so he simply wrote a memo and locked it in his desk, a moment that later shaped his lifelong case for ombuds programs.
• Individuals may only need an ombuds once or twice in a career, but that one moment can determine whether they stay or leave an organization entirely.
• Retaliation isn't always direct. Chuck describes "under the radar" and "ripple" retaliation as quieter forces that keep people from speaking up.
• Ombuds are separated from formal channels like HR, compliance, and hotlines by having no managerial authority and no duty to report, which is what makes people trust them enough to talk.
• Ombuds programs aren't just for junior employees. Chuck has seen CEOs, general counsel, and senior leaders use them, and middle managers are often the most vulnerable group of all.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

01:07 – Katherine introduces Chuck Howard

03:44 – Chuck's origin story: catching a partner in malpractice

07:58 – Setting up an ombuds program at his own law firm

12:01 – The travel and expense reports story

14:48 – Ombuds vs. formal channels like HR and hotlines

18:37 – Confidentiality and internal vs. external ombuds roles

21:21 – Why the charter is what protects confidentiality

24:33 – Building trust through an ombuds program

28:06 – Ombuds isn't just for junior employees

29:45 – Chuck's advice for leaders

33:03 – Chuck's one tool for staying calm: hiking and blacksmithing

36:52 – Outro

Jen Marr is the author of Showing Up and Lifting Up, two books that have become touchstones for building real resilience in the workplace. Her path into this work started in an unexpected place, supporting the Sandy Hook Elementary community and then finding herself 700 yards from the finish line when the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, four months apart. Watching how people in crisis felt isolated even when money and resources were poured into helping them sent her on a decade-long study of what people actually need when they're destabilized, distressed, or overwhelmed, and how that need is showing up more and more in today's workplaces.

In this conversation, Jen and Sana dig into why self-care and clinical support alone aren't enough without the relational piece, why a quick five-minute check-in beats a long agenda-driven one-on-one nobody has time for, and why screens have quietly turned communication into just informing. They talk through the generational divide between "native analogs" and "native digitals," and how leaders can meet both where they are. The centerpiece of the conversation is Jen's "awkward zone," a framework for the four ways good intentions miss their mark, and why being a good person doesn't automatically mean your impact lands the way you meant it to.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Jen on LinkedIn

Learn more about Jen Marr's books, "Showing Up" and "Lifting Up"

Learn more about Showing Up LLC

Connect with Sana on LinkedIn

Learn more about OmbudSana

Subscribe to Spoken in Confidence on YouTube for more content!

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn

Learn more about PeopleForward Network

Key Takeaways:

• Self-care and clinical support matter, but without relational connection at work, neither one holds up.
• A five-minute "what do you need today" check-in beats a long agenda-driven one-on-one nobody has time for.
• Words only account for a small fraction of communication, so screen-only messages easily get misread.
• Leaders need to recognize the real skill gap between native analogs and native digitals rather than dismissing either.
• Good intent doesn't guarantee good impact. The "awkward zone" is where that gap shows up most.

Kristina Broumand is the former Chief Legal and People Officer of Zappos and currently a part-time faculty member in Legal Studies at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. She earned her BSBA in Accounting and Computer & Information Systems from Robert Morris University, and her JD and MBA from Georgetown University. Since graduating Georgetown, she has grown her legal, commercial, and people expertise at organizations across several industries and sectors, including at Troutman Pepper Locke, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, and Caesars Entertainment. She is a dedicated volunteer for the Junior League and currently serves as the Secretary for the Junior League of Las Vegas Endowment Fund Board of Trustees. In addition to her career and volunteer accomplishments, she takes the greatest pride in her role as a caretaker for three generations of her family.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Kristina Broumand on LinkedIn

Connect with Sana on LinkedIn

Learn more about OmbudSana

Subscribe to Spoken in Confidence on YouTube for more content!

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn

Learn more about PeopleForward Network

Key Takeaways:

• Presence is the foundation of trust, whether that means walking the office floor, responding to emails promptly, or sending a simple message to check in.
• Employees will always be hesitant to bring concerns to someone who represents the company, which is why neutral, independent resources are so valuable.
• Empathy means putting yourself in the other person's shoes and taking time to understand what is really going on in their life before reacting.
• Leaders can only show up as their best selves when they are also taking care of themselves.
• The ripple effects of workplace conflict extend far beyond the people directly involved, and leaders need to consider the impact on everyone around them.

Welcome to Spoken in Confidence, the podcast dedicated to transforming how we approach workplace tension and building healthier organizational cultures. Hosted by a former HR leader, employment lawyer, and organizational ombudsman with over 25 years of experience, this show serves as a safe space for navigating the tricky situations we all face at work.

Each month, we will sit down with leaders who chose to handle conflict differently, sharing real-world scenarios, hard conversations, and practical tools to help you stay calm and manage your responses effectively. Whether you are an executive looking for the fuller picture, a compliance leader, a manager tackling a difficult issue, or an employee unsure of how to raise a concern, this podcast is your invitation to help build a workplace where everyone feels safe to share their perspectives and bring their best selves to work.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Sana on LinkedIn

Learn more about OmbudSana

Subscribe to Spoken in Confidence on YouTube for more content!

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn

Learn more about PeopleForward Network