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 Cali Yost, Suzi McAlpine, Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, Dorothy Dalton, and Julie Winkle Giulioni.

From Cali Yost: Escape the 10 Tyrannies of Work/Life Balance…Finally

“’What’s your top how-to tip?’ When I’m asked this question in almost every consulting engagement, speech and media interview, my answer is the same, ‘Stop looking for balance and start finding your unique work+life fit.’ Over the years, my response has become even more emphatic. Why? Because ‘balance’ is an anachronistic holdover from the Industrial Age, with all of its boundaries and rules that no longer exist.”

From Suzi McAlpine: What Every Leader Needs To Know About Their Support Crew

“Had it not been for some timely encouragement from his wife, Tabby, the now prolific and enormously successful writer, Stephen King, may have never written his first book – or, consequently, any of the others he has gone on to produce.”

From Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie: My 5 Secrets To Awe-inspiring Leadership Productivity

“The key to lifetime of productivity is simply this: Making the best selection of WHAT to do at any given moment.”

From Dorothy Dalton: 7 tells you’re on the brink of losing your team

“The stats on the level of engagement in all organizations come out overwhelmingly against the boss. 66% seems to be a standard figure for disengaged employees, so let’s work around that. It starts with the top employee who can bail fastest and more easily than the others. Then it trickles downwards, so that means losing your team will be the next step.”

From Julie Winkle Giulioni: From Team Building to Team Bonding

“How much does your organization spend each year to hire, train, support and bring together the right team? How much time is invested in off-sites, ropes courses, style profiles, and other events designed to build team cohesion and results? How happy are you with the outcome?”

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 three great articles about disruption, key lessons from the Smart Manufacturing Summit, how companies are using big data and analytics, five things to promote gender equality and why co-working is the future.

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.