ABSTRACT
This chapter considers professional development and to propose an approach which can be used alongside or indeed instead of more traditional development approaches in a range of contexts. It focuses on relationships and interrelationships, on intersubjectivity as a means of creating and exploring meaning within work and thus within development. Existence precedes essence is the aphorism said to characterise existentialist thinking. Adopting a social constructionist perspective encourages an analysis of the ongoing and relational acts between people. The philosophy of the narrative approach that we explore below is that constructionist and existentialist dialogues provide alternative perspectives and different lenses to examine development. Buber proposes dialogue as the key to creating intersubjective understanding and realising potential. The process enables new insights into individual learning and development and, as importantly, promotes the development of new professional relationships as a result.
