Conceptualizing Dialogic Leadership Through a Relational Worldview: Human Revolution, Dialogue and Invitational Rhetoric

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 3:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: The Flow State: When Leadership Work Meets Well-Being Matters

Abstract

In an era dominated by mechanistic worldviews and social disconnection, educational leaders find themselves embedded in hierarchical systems that inhibit relationality, leading to stress that is compounded by isolation and loneliness. This isolation often perpetuates itself through communication patterns that reinforce hierarchical distance. In contrast, relational leadership practices such as dialogue and invitational rhetoric offer a way to “suture the breach of social division/difference” (Foss & Griffin, 2020a, p. 243). We seek to conceptualize these forms of communication relative to inner transformation by drawing on the work of Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda. We propose that a focus on inner change can support a leader’s practice of dialogic and invitational strategies of communication, thereby reducing isolation and hierarchical distance.

Authors

• Nitesh Sil, DIG International

• Melissa Riley Bradford, DePaul University