Conversation, an essential leadership tool.	What does a leader do most of the day? Talk! But make no mistake; this is not a waste of time! The authors of Leadership Unplugged emphasize that conversation is an essential tool of leadership. In a world where leaders can no longer simply make decisions and persuade people, conversation is the key driver to get others to cooperate willingly in changing their way of thinking. To use this tool effectively, leaders must master the various facets of conversation, i.e. debate, discussion and dialogue. The authors offer many helpful suggestions on how to do this.
Leadership Unplugged, Jacqueline Moore and Steven Sonsino, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Capitalizing on Conflict	Managing conflict is the daily lot of every manager and executive. However, this can feel like a never-ending chore, because new problems seem to arise as each conflict is resolved. Capitalizing on Conflict invites readers to consider conflict not as an unavoidable evil, but rather as an opportunity to improve organizational performance. The authors offer numerous tips on how to find lasting solutions to conflict. They also emphasize the possibility to limit the risk of conflict and propose several guiding principles, in terms of organization, communication, etc.
Kirk Blackard, James W. Gibson Davies-Black, 2002.
Le manager à l'écoute	“Listen to people when they speak, if you want them to listen to you,” asserted La Rochefoucault. Yet, among all of the skills that managers need, listening is one of the things they do least well. Le manager à l’écoute (The Attentive Manager) underlines the growing importance of being attentive to changes in the environment and employee expectations. The author, a consultant at CEPIG (Individual and Group Psychology Research Center), suggests a set of techniques that help managers listen better, such as identifying personal listening style preferences, learning to listen on several levels, combating non-listening attitudes, unearthing potential misunderstandings, developing one's empathy, etc. This handy guide is chock full of checklists and methods.
Yves Blanc Dunod, 2002.
Clear Leadership	High-quality interpersonal relationships are more important than ever to organizational efficiency. In a context where decision-making in increasingly shared, where everyone is expected to take initiative, and where teamwork plays a predominant role, the ability to communicate clearly is essential. Clear Leadership nevertheless observes that few organizations possess this ability to a sufficient degree, as demonstrated by how often things go awry as a result of misunderstandings. The author recommends concrete methods to resolve these problems.
Gervase R. Bushe., Davies-Black, 2001.
Dialogue	In most organizations, meetings are places of confrontation, where the participants seek to defend their respective points of view. Although this approach can be efficient when the issues are simple, it leads to poor decisions when the issues are complex. This book extols the virtues of a different approach to communication, i.e. dialogue, and provides many practical tips on how to master and promote this form of debate.
Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard, Wiley, 1998.