We are defining dialogue as a particular type of conversation in which we choose to suspend our strongly held views in service of exploring new possibilities. Few people engage in dialogue at work.

Strong leaders embrace feedback, seek to understand it, and put it to use. Even when they may disagree, they don’t become defensive; instead they engage in dialogue and honest inquiry to figure out where the gaps between their intentions and others’ perceptions come from. The feedback may be wrong, but they embrace it to understand it nevertheless.

The role of the leader is not to try and force a message through – an approach that rarely works, rather the role of the leader is to influence, to engage in the conversation, listening and voicing, always with respect. To encourage dialogue and reflective learning, often in the moment. The leaders we spoke to understood communication to be a socia