Expanding Conversations of Leadership Through Reflecting Processes

By:
Dr. Anne Morrison
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Social constructionist perspective has moved hierarchical models of teaching and leading to more balanced interpersonal approaches. The reflecting processes are open talks that have been used in therapeutic and educational settings as a means to create dialogue. The reflecting processes approach recognizes the formative nature of language and create space for the person to express him/herself through dialogue. Reflecting process call into question traditional methods of leading that push or pull an individual, imposing constraints on the expression of thought. Reflecting processes engage in practices such as collaboration and listening with authentic reciprocity to open space for the participants to hear in a different way. This change in actions, for example, listening without interrupting or directing is a "difference that makes a difference" in the supervising conversation. Such change is embedded in a hermeneutic cycle of listening differently, hearing differently, talking differently, thinking differently, and in turn acting differently in the worlds of business and/ or education. Open talks allow for multiple possibilities to be heard while continuing the dialogue and creating space for workers to search for new ways to go on in their worklife.


Keywords: Reflecting Processes, Open Talks
Stream: Change, Teams, Collaborative Cultures
Presentation Type: 30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Dr. Anne Morrison

Assistant Professor, Educational Foundations and Special Services, Kent State University
Kent, Ohio, UNITED STATES

As an undergraduate student studying sociology and psychology I realized I wanted to grow old on a college campus. Many decades and several careers later I am in love with doing just that. My interest in the social construction of knowledge led me to think of learning as a relationship. It is in the back and forth of everyday conversation that the students and I come to understand our thoughts about learning and being in the world of education. Lately, these conversations have me thinking about working toward more egalitarian leadership relationships. I have talked with others about approaches to leadership and sharing that are based on hearing what others have to say. The approach I am most interested in uses "reflecting processes" as a means of hearing multiple perspectives (Andersen, 1995). I have used the reflecting process approach as a therapist and a teacher and am expanding the conversation to include peer reviews in education and business.

Ref: M06P0570