President Obama is teaching important lessons to new leaders challenged with spearheading critical change efforts. His decisive actions from the time of his November election victory until now offer great pointers for how leaders can step into power and lay a solid foundation for success.

As the economic climate grows more challenging, business leaders worry about productivity and performance. In business, agreements are the links that connect strategy to execution, and ensure the urgent and necessary work gets done.

In his white paper, How Much YES Do You Need?, Jay Gordon Cone provides a model and an array of tips to ensure you are getting enough agreement to execute well, and succeed.

Collaboration is a critical driver in business today, particularly if your business is global and your teams are far-flung. New technologies are promising, but the simple truth is: technology doesn't collaborate, people do.

What special methods do your people have to collaborate successfully?
How can you get strong results – and a truly collaborative workforce?

Download this free white paper —Bells, Whistles, and Blackberries — to learn:

Patty McManus' white paper, "Beyond Feedback: Breaking the Vicious Cycle," explores a particular type of interpersonal workplace conflict that involves a complex dynamic.

The tricky thing about these conflicts is that they can't be "fixed" by giving feedback. In fact, feedback may exacerbate the problem and is often the last thing you should turn to in these situations.

To read it, please download the article here.

To: Management
From: A concerned employee

Subject: Performance Management

Well, it’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing color, the kids are headed back to school in their new shoes, and I’m preparing to meet with my boss to have a year’s worth of behavior summed up in a two-or three-word euphemism that will determine my future income and career potential. Yes, that’s right, it’s Performance Appraisal time.

At the recent Best of OD Summit in Chicago, Peter Block delivered a provocative keynote address called "Transformation and the Structure of Belonging." His remarks focused on the vital importance of creating communities, in both the civic and organizational senses. Nothing provocative there, but his unique approach to building communities questioned some existing assumptions about how best to mobilize effective action.

Part I.

It’s only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away.

Bee Gees, "Words"

It is often said "Actions speak louder than words."

The implication is that words are not important. At the very least, the phrase dismisses the importance of words. Actions in a leader are important. I contend that words still have great impact. In fact, they are a form of ACTION. The leader's words ultimately are seen and heard by listeners and readers as conveying the strategic thinking of the leader.

Most inventories of desirable leadership characteristics will place "good listener" near the top. Good listening helps leaders to understand, empathize, and engage their team members and employees. Good listening builds rapport and trust; it invariably improves the relationship. Listening is not a warm-and-fuzzy competence: it’s an essential skill-set that yields significant results.

Listening as an Ally™ Case Study

Terrence Gargiulo is the author of Once Upon A Time, available from Amazon.com here.

Trust describes an attribute of our relationship to a surprising number of things. We talk about trusting a person, for example: "I would trust her with my life." We may talk about trusting an object: "You expect me to cross the gorge on that bridge?!" We can trust (or not) a situation, a company’s brand, or a celebrity endorsing a product.