Why do leaders need to be skilled communicators?

Leaders need to be skilled communicators to moderate dialogues that build commitment and generate energized action, overcoming the common problem of slow or unenthusiastic progress on initiatives.

What is the outcome of effectively moderated dialogue?

Effectively moderated dialogue builds understanding and support across stakeholders, creates committed agreement for action, and helps achieve results that are far beyond business as usual.

Action Dialogue: A Leadership Tool for Committed Action

Q: What is action dialogue?

Action dialogue is the accumulation of insights, ideas, and observations leading to a shared understanding and committed action among stakeholders.

The Leadership Challenge: Why Aren't Things Moving?

Many leaders express frustration that initiatives are not moving fast enough or that "nothing's happening." This is a common challenge when trying to accomplish objectives and achieve results. The core issue is often not a lack of activity, but a lack of energized, committed action.

The Problem with "Going-Along" Action

There is a kind of action where people simply go through the motions. While tasks may get done, there is little energy or ownership behind the effort. This "going-along" approach often yields the minimum required, and sometimes even less. It does not foster innovation or excellence.

Action Dialogue: A Process for Commitment

To generate whole-hearted action where people are energized and fully behind a plan, leaders need a process that builds genuine commitment. This process is actionable dialogue.

What Is Action Dialogue?

Action dialogue is the accumulation of insights, ideas, observations, and awareness from across critical stakeholders. The goal is to build a shared understanding that leads to committed, collective action. It is a process that synthesizes diverse perspectives into a unified plan that everyone supports.

The Leader's Role as a Moderator

Learning to conduct and moderate dialogues is a critical leadership tool for creating and maintaining momentum. By effectively moderating the process, a leader can ensure everyone gets involved quickly. This builds appreciative understanding and support, leading to results far beyond "business as usual." While the process is simple in concept, putting it into practice requires skill and dedication.

Best Practice Institute

Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

The Workplace Report

The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.

The Skilled Communicator