Creating Organizational Value through Dialogical Leadership (eBook)

Rens van Loon is a professor and a consultant specialized in leadership and organizational change and transformation. He graduated from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands with a degree in philosophy in 1986 and completed a PhD in social sciences and psychology in 1996. In 2015 he was appointed the world’s first Professor of Dialogical Leadership in the School of Humanities at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. A consultant for more than 25 years, he has developed worldwide leadership programs and worked closely with leaders in both the private and public sectors.A trained psychologist, he began, over 15 years ago, to combine Dialogical Self Theory with his own practical experience as a consultant. The result was Dialogical Leadership, a new approach to leadership, teams, and organizations explored in this book. Van Loon is the author of three previous books, published in Dutch, and of numerous academic papers on leadership, dialogue and change. He has been a director with Deloitte Consulting since 2009. He serves as a Board Member of the International Leadership Association (ILA), is active in the International Society for Dialogical Science (ISDS), and the Dialogical Self Academy (DSA).

Foreword I 6
Foreword II 8
Reference 10
Preface 11
Acknowledgements 13
References 16
Contents 17
Rens van Loon 22
List of Figures 23
1 Introduction 25
References 28
The Theory 29
Part1 30
2 Dialogical Self Theory 31
Abstract 31
2.1 Self as a ‘Society of Mind’ 32
2.1.1 Weaving Self and Dialogue Together 33
2.1.2 Dynamic Positioning of the Self 38
2.2 Relationally Constructing Self in Language 40
2.2.1 ‘Centering My High Note’ 43
2.2.2 Self as a Dynamic and Relational Verb 44
2.2.3 Deriving Meaning from the Context 45
2.2.4 Independency as Relationally Embedded 46
2.2.5 “To Be Is to Be Relational” 47
2.3 Key Concepts in Dialogical Self Theory 48
2.3.1 An Act of Self-Reflection (Meta-Position) 48
2.3.2 Being (De-)Stabilized (Centering and De-Centering) 49
2.4 Information and Space in Positioning Self 50
2.4.1 Energy and Information 51
2.4.2 Free Energy 52
2.4.3 Energy Space 53
2.4.3.1 Arrow and Field Energy 54
2.4.3.2 Nature, Knowledge, and Experience 56
2.4.4 Creating Space in Dialogical Relations 56
2.4.5 Space as ‘Space Between’ 58
2.5 Transposing Patterns of Behavior 59
2.5.1 An Empty Self? 60
2.6 Reflections on My Personal Narrative 1 61
2.6.1 Fragments of My Self-Narrative in 1987 62
2.6.2 Becoming Aware of I-Positions 62
2.6.3 Looking Back to My Earlier Self 63
2.7 Questions for Further Reflection 63
References 65
3 Dialogical Leadership 67
Abstract 67
3.1 Leadership as a Relational Process 68
3.1.1 Good Leaders Deploy Different Styles 69
3.2 The Myth of the Leader–Follower Dichotomy 70
3.2.1 Good Leadership as Effective and Ethical 71
3.2.2 Leadership Is ‘By Definition’ Relational 74
3.2.3 A Confrontation with Values 75
3.2.4 A Dynamic Leadership Concept 76
3.3 What Is Dialogical Leadership? 77
3.3.1 Leading Self and Others 79
3.3.2 When to Apply Dialogical Leadership? 80
3.3.3 Four Pillars of Dialogical Leadership 82
3.4 Reflections on My Personal Narrative 2 82
3.4.1 My Secret Name 84
3.4.2 A Distinctive Inner Voice 84
3.4.3 Centering My Self 85
3.5 Questions for Further Reflection 85
References 87
The Practice 89
4 Creating Conditions for Generative Dialogue 90
Abstract 90
4.1 From Thoughts to Thinking 91
4.1.1 Dialogue as Meaning Flowing Through Us 92
4.1.2 Dialogue as Face to Face Encounter 93
4.2 The Art of Thinking Together 94
4.2.1 Listening with an Open Mind 95
4.2.2 Suspending Your Judgment 95
4.2.3 Respecting Other Views 96
4.2.4 Voicing from the Heart 96
4.2.5 Creating Conditions for Dialogue 97
4.2.6 Conversation, Debate, and Dialogue: Crises in the Process 97
4.2.7 Switching Between Debate and Dialogue 101
4.3 Generating New Meaning, Transforming Reality 103
4.3.1 Mutual Understanding 103
4.3.2 Being a Multibeing 104
4.3.3 Generative Dialogue 105
4.3.4 The Power of Storytelling 106
4.3.5 The Impact of Affirmation 106
4.3.6 Reflecting on Yourself 107
4.3.7 Third-Person Listening 107
4.4 Recognizing the Other 109
4.4.1 Creating Space 110
4.4.2 Recognizing Alterity 110
4.4.3 Innovation as Opening the Mind 111
4.4.4 Mutually Understanding 111
4.4.5 Power Differences 112
4.4.6 Being Fully Present 112
4.5 Dialogue and Transformation 113
4.5.1 Emerged Accidentally, Defended Inflexibly 113
4.5.2 Conditions for Change 114
4.5.3 Changing the System 116
4.6 Creating Conditions for Generative Leadership Dialogue 117
4.6.1 Generic Aspects for a Generative Dialogue 117
4.6.2 Setting up an Individual Leadership Dialogue 122
4.6.3 The Role of the Facilitator in Setting up a Dialogue for a Team 125
4.6.4 Qualities of a Good Facilitator 126
4.6.5 Categories of Interventions 126
4.7 Some Considerations 127
4.7.1 This Kind of Facilitator Doesn’t Exist 127
4.7.2 Controlling the World 128
4.7.3 Power as an Interfering Factor 128
4.8 Reflections on My Personal Narrative 3 130
4.8.1 Developing a Habit 130
4.8.2 A Moment of Crisis 130
4.8.3 Out of My Comfort Zone 131
4.9 Questions for Further Reflection 133
References 134
5 Towards a Theory of Embodied Dialogue 136
Abstract 136
5.1 A Dynamic Balance 137
5.1.1 Physically Disconnected Words 138
5.1.2 Being Born into a Culture 139
5.1.3 Defining Ourselves 139
5.2 Dialogue as Generating New Meaning 145
5.2.1 Dialogue as a Participative Mode of Interacting 148
5.2.2 Applying Dialogue in a Leadership Context: A Methodology 152
5.3 Exploring I-Positions in Dialogue 154
5.4 Resistance in Dialogue 156
5.5 Creating Transformational Space 158
5.6 A Methodology of Connecting I-Positions 160
5.7 The Process of Reconciling I-Positions Illustrated 164
5.7.1 “I Feel Frustrated” 164
5.7.2 The Entrepreneur and the Hobby Farmer 165
5.7.3 “The Gate of Frustration Is Closed” 168
5.8 Reflections on My Personal Narrative 4 170
5.8.1 Moments of Transformation 170
5.8.2 Shifting Dominance 171
5.8.3 Suspending My Will Power 173
5.9 Questions for Further Reflection 173
References 174
The Impact 176
6 Dialogical Leadership and Wicked Issues 177
Abstract 177
6.1 Living in an Unpredictable World—the Implications for Leaders 178
6.1.1 Studying Leadership Is not yet Being a Leader 179
6.1.2 Creating Conditions for Dialogue 180
6.1.3 Constructive Depolarizing 181
6.2 Leading Change Through Dialogue 183
6.2.1 Change and Transformation 184
6.2.2 Starting with ‘Why’ 185
6.2.3 Visioning and Voicing 187
6.3 When to Apply the Dialogical Leadership Approach? 189
6.3.1 Taking a Bird’s Eye View 191
6.3.2 From ‘What’ to ‘Who’ 191
6.4 Case-Studies 192
6.5 Case-Study Darrell: Sailor-Captain and General Manager 194
6.5.1 “I Lost My I” 194
6.5.2 Transposing Sailor-Captain into General Manager 196
6.6 Case-Study Marc: Engineer, Artist, and Karate-Teacher 198
6.6.1 “I Have to Open Up” 199
6.6.2 The Painter Balances the Engineer 199
6.7 Case-Study Michelle: HR-Director and Mother 202
6.7.1 “I as Burned Out” 202
6.7.2 “Being Overruled” 204
6.7.3 Reconciling Control and Care 206
6.8 Case-Study Ian: Changing My/Our Destiny 208
6.8.1 “I as Taking My Responsibility” 208
6.8.2 “Improving the Quality of Life” 210
6.9 Case-Study Nicholas: Listening to My Inner Voice 212
6.9.1 “I Want to Be Independent” 212
6.9.2 “I Want to Be Heard” 213
6.10 Future Research 213
6.11 Reflections on My Personal Narrative 5 216
6.11.1 Solving Wicked Issues for Myself 216
6.11.2 I Am Not a Master of My Destiny 217
6.11.3 My Magnetic Needle 217
6.12 Questions for Further Reflection 219
References 219
7 Case-Study. Dialogical Leadership and Teamwork 221
7.1 Leadership and Innovation with Océ 221
7.2 Creating a Mindset for Trust and Dialogue 223
7.3 The Power of Sharing Personal Narratives 231
7.4 Exploring Team Values and Team Purpose 240
7.5 Taking a Pause 245
7.6 Practicing New Ways of Interaction 247
7.7 New Challenges and Old Habits 252
7.8 Reflections 256
7.8.1 Dealing with Misunderstanding 256
7.8.2 Dealing with Paradoxes 258
7.8.3 Paradoxes in Terms of I-Positions 259
7.8.4 Working with Core-Values 260
7.8.5 The Strength of Weak Ties 261
References 261
The Implications 263
8 The Future of Leadership 264
Abstract 264
8.1 You Are Always Both 266
8.2 Redefining Research into Leadership and Culture 271
8.2.1 An Adaptive Challenge 273
8.3 Leading Innovation 275
8.3.1 Leading Exponential Organizations 279
8.4 Leading on Big Data 280
8.4.1 Reality Is Unpredictable 281
8.4.2 Unstructured Data in a Box 281
8.4.3 Going Forward 283
8.5 Listening to Silence 285
8.6 Reflection 285
8.7 Questions for Further Reflection 287
References 288
9 Boiling Rice in Still Water 290
References 292