Dialogic Leadership and New Alternative Masculinities: Emerging Synergies for Social Transformation

Abstract

Leadership plays a relevant role in the improvement of organisations and its study has influenced the analysis of dynamics of social change in current societies. There is a trend to analyse leadership considering issues such as its distribution or transformative dimension. According to recent developments in this field, dialogic leadership implies the whole community in the process of creation, development and consolidation of leadership practices. However, less is known about the role of dialogic leadership in relation to men´s movements and masculinities, particularly in the field of the New Alternative Masculinities (NAM). This article presents the results of a qualitative case study developed in an adult school being part of the Learning Communities project. It illustrates existing synergies between dialogic leadership and the NAM movement. It is explored in which ways the school influence transformative processes beyond its organisation and contributes to make more visible the NAM movement. The paper shows evidence on how dialogic leadership contributes to create an environment in which emerging leadership practices of the community in relation to the NAM movement have flourished.