It's a great American tradition to make resolutions to start the New Year -- things like losing weight, exercising more or spending more time with the family. Most of the time we're well-meaning with our resolutions, but we know how hard it is to see them through. When we do, we can make a very positive impact on our lives.

I was thinking that business leaders might use the New Year to develop resolutions as well. So I asked a number of leadership experts to help me develop suggestions for resolutions that could make a real difference in the quality and performance of an organization -- as long as a leader stayed committed to them throughout the year.

Here goes:

Resolve to build trust with employees. "A culture laced with high trust is more creative and leads to greater productivity and quality," advises Adele B. Lynn, author of the book, "In Search of Honor -- Lessons from Workers on How to Build Trust." Trust, after all, is the cornerstone of commitment, loyalty and ultimately performance.

Resolve to be a "we leader." Leaders can achieve far more by learning how to work effectively with other companies to achieve common goals, says Jonathan Tisch, chief executive officer of Loews Hotels. We live in the era of strategic alliances, joint ventures and partnerships. Learn to appreciate them and to make them successful.

Resolve to invest in leadership development to drive growth, not just efficiency. "Most companies have been grooming leaders who are skilled at cost cutting but lack skills in driving top-line growth," said Ed Boswell, CEO of The Forum Corp., a workplace learning company and consulting firm. Make sure your organization's leaders have both sets of skills.

Resolve to stop relying on reorganizations to solve strategy problems. "Remember that restructuring alone seldom provides more than temporary relief from problems and can, in fact, create many others," said Pamela S. Harper, president of Business Advancement Inc., and author of the book, "Preventing Strategic Gridlock." Ask questions, challenge traditions and revamp processes to position your organization for the future.

Resolve to break the culture of micromanagement. According to Harry Chambers, president of Trinity Solutions Inc. and author of the book "My Way or the Highway," one out of three people has changed jobs because of a micromanager. Chambers confirms what we all know: A culture of micromanagement is established at the very top of an organization and negatively impacts retention and performance.

Resolve to find the time and resources to install a real succession/talent management program. Bill Rothwell, professor of work force education at Penn State, said there always seems to be a reason not to do succession planning. "In a down market we have no resources for succession programs, but in peak times we have no time for them." This year, just do it.

Resolve to build a leadership team that has the courage to tell you when you're headed in the wrong direction. This is from Doug Ready, president of ICEDR, a top think tank in leadership development. Surround yourself with good people and make the commitment to listen to them; otherwise they really won't listen to you.

Resolve to manage your personal impact on your company's culture. Said Judy Rosenblum, chief learning officer of Duke Corporate Education: "If you think your customers are idiots, your people will treat them that way. If you believe that diversity doesn't matter, your managers won't either. If you think all process is bureaucracy, nothing will ever happen the same way twice." Focus on getting your own attitudes in order.

Resolve to be resolved. This one's from me. Pick a couple of these great ideas, commit to them and stick with them. It won't be easy, and you'll have plenty of distractions; but that's what great leaders do -- they focus on the few critical issues that can drive their own performance and that of their organization. And they demonstrate the resolve to achieve their objective -- whatever it takes.