Independent business blogs are blogs that aren’t supported by an organization like a magazine, newspaper, company, or business school. Those people provide lots of great content, but they don’t need any additional exposure. In this post, every week, I bring you posts of quality from excellent bloggers that don’t get as much publicity.

This week, I’m pointing you to posts by Mary Jo Asmus, Ed Batista, Kevin Eikenberry, Art Petty, and Ken Downer.

From Mary Jo Asmus: The counter-intuitive nature of slowing down to speed up

“Productivity- we all know it’s important. It fuels growth and bottom line results. So when you push people to move faster, shorten deadlines, and bring in new, more efficient technology, productivity will increase, right? Perhaps.”

From Ed Batista: The Difficulty of Empathizing Up

“A common feature of organizational life that I observe from my perspective as an executive coach is our collective failure to “empathize up.” We talk about “managing up” constantly, and it’s well understood that professional success involves attending to our relationships with those in a position of authority or influence over us. Directors manage their VPs; VPs manage the C-level; C-level execs manage the CEO; and the CEO manages board members and investors. There’s no shortage of managing up. But what’s often lacking in that process is empathy”

From Kevin Eikenberry: The Most Powerful (And Dangerous) Question in the World

“Questions in general can be incredibly powerful, and the right one asked at the right time can change a situation, a relationship and even the world. But while lots of questions are great, there is one that is simple, universally used, and incredibly powerful – and that power can be for good, or for ill. It’s just one word.”

From Art Petty: In Pursuit of Becoming You at Your Best and the Power of Letting Go

“It turns out, letting go and pursuing the hard work of becoming our best are inherently interrelated. We need to let go to grow. And we need something that points to our true purpose to realize our potential.”

From Ken Downer: Spotlight the Support

“The stars get the attention, but in reality, they are only a part of the entire production.”

That’s it for this week’s selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on “Leadership Reading to Start Your Week” points you to choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms about strategy, innovation, women and the workplace, and work now and in the future. Highlights from the last issue include using history to motivate change, five lessons for leaders in turbulent times, how Google innovates, why ‘Artificial Intelligence’ has become meaningless, and being human in an automated workplace.

How I Select Posts for this Midweek Review

The five posts I select to share in my Midweek Review of the Independent Business Blogs are picked from a regular review of about sixty blogs I check daily and an additional twenty-five or so that I check occasionally. Here’s how I select the posts you see in this review.

They must be published within the previous week.

They must support the purpose of the blog: to help leaders at all levels do a better job and lead a better life.

They must be from an independent business blog.

As a general rule, I only select posts that stand on their own, no selections from a series.

Also as a general rule, I do not select posts that are either a book review or a book report.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to the above.

Here, on Three Star Leadership, I post things that will help a boss at any level do a better job and live a better life. At the The 360 Degree Feedback blog, I join other bloggers with posts on leadership development. And, at Wally Bock’s Writing Edge, I share tools and insights to help you write better.

If you’re a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor’s Support Kit.