Dialogue at work? What it is and isn't

The purpose of this paper is to distinguish productive and unproductive understandings of the dialogue concept for employment in organizational practice.

A decade of theoretical/philosophical literature about “dialogue” in organizations both trivializes the concept and makes its accomplishment seem routine. This manuscript synthesizes that literature and separates unproductive or inauthentic understandings from those indicative of how dialogue is conceived and intended.

The paper finds that if it is to accomplish what it has the potential to accomplish in organizational life, dialogue must be understood as interpersonally tough and unfamiliar, politically challenging and psychologically disconcerting.

The manuscript should be of value to all those interested in employing dialogue at work, but who currently understand it in unclear ways due to the way it is talked about in the popular business press.