Creating Organizational Value Through Dialogical Leadership

This book demonstrates Dialogical Leadership which is the workplace application of the Dialogical Self Theory, first developed by Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans in the 1990s. It encourages scientists and science-practitioners interested in leadership issues to discuss the power of dialogue in solving workplace culture problems. Van Loon’s work extends the concept of Dialogical Self Theory to the leadership of organizations, drawing on social constructionism by the American psychologist Ken Gergen and the leadership framework of British academic Keith Grint. This book explicitly links the health of organizations to the psychological and emotional health of those who lead them, concluding with the factors of teamwork and motivation. Dialogical Leadership jettisons the idea that organizations are run by ‘superheroes’, presenting a more realistic picture of the workplace. This is the first book to isolate ‘generative dialogue’ as the key mechanism for successful change and transformation programs in organizations. It rejects the idea that successful organizations are ‘rational systems’ conforming to scripts laid down by leaders, and it places dialogue and co-creation – ‘reciprocal exchange’ – at the heart of successful change programs. It starts from the kinds of questions leaders ask themselves – their ‘interior dialogue’ – and the quality of their interactions with others – their external dialogues – which can as shown in this book, be the difference between success and failure.

In the Foreword to The Dialogical Challenge of Leadership Development, eminent scholar Ken Gergen shrewdly points to dialogue as an optimal tool for organizational communication in the 21st Century. Gergen’s comment serves as a quintessential backdrop of the book you are about to read. Dialogical practice is no longer a distant option for organizational leaders to passively consider. Instead, it has become an indispensable tool for leaders who understand the critical significance of relational influence and sustainability for navigating today’s increasingly complex and wicked organizational and societal challenges. Thanks to the wide-ranging talent and varied perspectives of leading scholars and seasoned practitioners from around the globe who graciously contributed to this volume, The Dialogical Challenge of Leadership Development offers compelling evidence that - whether they arise from Brazilian favelas or the world’s largest corporate boardrooms - the challenges which leaders face on a daily basis can be effectively addressed through dialogical practice.

Although organizations frequently proclaim the desire for change, renewal and transformation, few ever fully embrace those ideas, failing to rise above more than mere mediocrity and never realizing even a fraction of their true potential. Certainly, many pontificate on the nature of organizations as they live and breathe, so to speak; yet, few question how the organization ought to be. This ought belies the existential and ethical dimensions of organizing and, as such, points to a discipline not often associated with the organizational realm–theology. To this end, the concept of the kenotic organization offers a much-needed antidote to the syndrome described above. Drawing on the divine Trinitarian kenosis observed in the creation event and witnessed in the Incarnation, the simultaneous actions of self-limiting and pouring out inform the organizational cause and expose a deeply entangled organizational mesh enveloping the entire cosmos which can serve as a catalyst to excite preferred organizational behaviors. It is, in fact, the humility of Trinitarian kenosis, the willingness to withdraw but also at once pour out the individual essence, that generates the thrust necessary to escape the gravitational pull of convention which typical inhibits organizational flourishing.

In crisis situations, such as terror attacks or societal tensions caused by migration, people tend to look for explicit moral and spiritual leadership and are often inclined to vote for so-called 'strong leaders'. Is there a way to resist the temptation of the simplistic solutions that these ‘strong leader’ offer, and instead encourage constructive engagement with the complex demands of our times? This volume utilises relational and dialogical perspectives to examine and address many of the issues surrounding the moral and spiritual guidance articulated in globalizing Western societies. The essays in this collection focus on the concept of plural moralities, understood as divergent visions on what is a 'good life', both in an ethical, aesthetical, existential, and spiritual sense. They explore the political-cultural context and consequences of plural moralities as well as discussing challenges, possibilities, risks, and dangers from the perspective of two promising relational theories: social constructionism and dialogical self theory. The overarching argument is that it is possible to constructively put in nuanced moral and spiritual guidance into complex, plural societies. By choosing a clear theoretical focus on relational approaches to societal challenges, this interdisciplinary book provides both a broad scope and a coherent argument. It will be of great interest to scholars of social and political psychology, leadership and organization, religious studies, and pedagogy.

The more complex and ambiguous this world becomes, the greater the uncertainty leaders will face in their day to day professional and personal lives, and the greater the need to recognize and develop their leadership skills to help be the voice of reason when there’s nothing around them but chaos. The book presents real case studies where the authors offer action learning methodologies grounded in various leadership theories. Whether you are a firm or skeptical believer in leadership development, the authors in this book, through their experiences and observations, illustrate how awareness, purpose, attitude, confidence, trust and mindset can play such a critical role in overcoming the toughest of circumstances.

The 21st century and its many challenges (invasion of digital technology, climate change, health crises, political crises, etc.) alert us that we need new educational responses, led by new education professionals. Research has shown that for these professionals to change in a substantial and profound way, they must change their identity, that is, the way in which they give meaning and meaning to their professional work. This book exposes, based on one of the most current and advanced theories for analyzing identity change -the theory of the dialogical self-, what changes should take place and how to promote them in eleven fundamental professional profiles in current education (teachers of student-teachers, primary & secondary teachers, inclusive teachers, inquiring teachers, mentors, school principals, university teachers, academic advisors, technologic/hybrid teachers, Learning specialists & educational researchers).

Inner Democracy: Empowering the Mind Against a Polarizing Society investigates the psychological backgrounds of contemporary societal problems such as hate speech, authoritarianism, and divisive forms of identity politics, and how we can counter such destructive forces. The book argues that a democratic society needs citizens who do more than just express their preference for free elections, freedom of speech, and respect of constitutional rights. Rather, democracy is vital only if it is deeply rooted in the hearts, minds, and selves of its participants. In the field of tension created by societal power clashes and absolute truth pretensions, the book investigates how opposition, cooperation, and participation work as innovative forces in a democratic self. Democracy is understood as a personal learning process and as a dialogical play between thought and counter-thought, between imagination and counter-imagination, and between emotion and reason. Written for social scientists, teachers, journalists, and parents who are interested in the facilitation of democracy in a wide variety of situations, this book proposes inner democracy as an antidote against the widespread polarization in our society.

The Second Edition of The SAGE Handbook of Leadership provides not only an in-depth overview the current field of leadership studies, but also a map into the future debates, innovations and priorities of where the field will move to. Featuring all new chapters from a global community of leading and emerging scholars, each chapter offers a comprehensive, critical overview of an aspect of leadership, a discussion of key debates and research, and a review of the emerging issues in its area. Featuring an innovative structure divided by prepositions, this brand-new edition moves away from essentializing boundaries, and instead seeks to create synergies between different schools of leadership. A key feature of the second edition, is the attention to sensemaking (exploring the current themes, structures and ideas that comprise each topic) and sensebreaking (disrupting, critiquing and refreshing each topic). Suitable for students and researchers alike, this second edition is a critical site of reference for the study of leadership. PART 1: Between: Leadership as a Social, Socio-cognitive and Practical Phenomenon PART 2: About: Exploring the Individual and Interpersonal Facets of Leadership PART 3: Through: Leadership Seen Through Contemporary Frames PART 4: Within: Leadership as a Contextually Bound Phenomenon PART 5: But: A Critical Examination of Leadership