When coaching an executive about engaging in dialogue with others it is useful to distinguish dialogue from other types of conversation. Dialogue is about learning. The focus of the learning is oneself. It is learning about one’s values, beliefs, assumptions and intentions. It brings to awareness what we already know and believe and often surfaces new levels and areas of meaning that can be profoundly important in testing attunement. The leadership coach can support learning this skill by making the potential and practice of dialogue explicit.

> Russ Volckmann