#101: Advancing Dialogic Leadership through AI-Enabled Training: Insights from a Design-Based Research Project

This paper reports insights from an ongoing design-based research project on developing an AI-enabled programme for dialogic leadership training. To ensure the effectiveness of the programme, one central challenge must be addressed: Can AI be designed to follow dialogic principles and provide trustworthy, supportive guidance that enables leaders to embed these principles into their practices? To address this, three design strategies were implemented: applying principles of dialogic intelligence and conversational heuristics to enhance AI’s capacity for generative dialogue; integrating open-source datasets and psychological frameworks to improve AI’s contextual awareness; and refining human-like interaction features to build AI’s credibility. Guided by these strategies, an initial prototype for leadership in performance reviews was developed and tested with 20 participants, yielding positive results. Looking forward, the project will improve scenario realism, introduce scaffolding mechanisms and develop evaluation mechanisms for a better learning experience.