To help increase leader effectiveness in planning and implementing local action projects, the booklet presents discussion and examples of the nature and characteristics of planned community action leading to community development. The booklet first explains why leaders should be involved with community action and then gives abstracts of seven successful community action projects in small New York towns. The projects described include the establishment of a medical clinic, senior citizens' housing, a 3-part complex for health and day care and senior citizen housing, an arts center, and a community library, and the organization of a local festival. The booklet explains the characteristics of community action, noting three key elements: the actors, the associations, and the action process itself. The booklet then provides a comprehensive analysis of developing and operating an action project using a model in five stages: project environment and background to action, initiation of action, expansion of the action system, operation of the action system, and ending or reorganization of the action system. The booklet concludes with information about how to apply the model and with a worksheet for each of the five stages. (SB)