Inclusive leadership as a discursive-rhetorical practice: A conceptual framework of discourse, identity and power

Abstract

Inclusive leadership is most commonly conceptualized as a behavioral style, psychological climate or managerial practice that promotes participation, belongingness and recognition. While these approaches have generated important insights, they provide only limited explanation of how inclusion is communicatively sustained within organizations. This article develops a conceptual framework for understanding inclusive leadership as a discursive-rhetorical practice of power. Drawing on a critical narrative synthesis of rhetorical theory, discourse studies and leadership scholarship, the article argues that inclusion is not a stable organizational condition, but a communicative accomplishment. The study proposes a three-dimensional framework composed of discursive construction, identity formation and power mediation that explains how rhetorical mechanisms (particularly logos, ethos and pathos) shape the meanings of inclusion, legitimize organizational identities and regulate participation under different institutional conditions. By integrating classical rhetoric and contemporary leadership theory, the article contributes a more precise account of how inclusion is rhetorically enabled, constrained and contested.