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 Frank Sonnenberg, Lolly Daskal, Scott Eblin, Ken Downer, and Art Petty.

From Frank Sonnenberg: If Your Behavior Is Contagious, What Will People Catch?

“Some folks have a very narrow view of how they influence others. It’s not just what you say, but what you do; when you speak up or when you turn a blind eye; when you’re friendly or when you give folks the cold shoulder; when you hold steadfast to your values or when you give in to temptation. You send messages continuously — even if you don’t intend to.”

From Lolly Daskal: How to Care for Your Employees’ Mental Health

“Most of us have greatly expanded our understanding of stress over these past few months, when we have the usual everyday stresses plus the uncertainty, disruption and chaos of a pandemic. It’s no surprise that mental well-being is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. As leaders we want what is best for our employees, and that means caring for about their mental health—especially now. Here are some solid steps you can take:”

From Scott Eblin: Who Do You Need to Be This Year?

“Gandhi wrote that, ‘In regard to every action, one must know the result that is expected to follow.’ That linking of cause and effect applies to everyone, but because of the ripple effect their actions have, I think it especially applies to leaders.”

From Ken Downer: Plans are Worthless: Why We Should Plan Anyway

“These days as we move from one unforeseeable event to the next, it might seem that any effort to plan is a waste of time.  Dwight Eisenhower would agree, at least in part, when he said, ‘Plans are worthless.’ But here’s the rest of that great quote and what we can take from it to help us prepare for the next time the unimagineable happens.”

From Art Petty: Six Big Reasons Why You Will Love the Role of Manager

“I’ve spent a good deal of time in my work and writing describing the challenges of managing. Below, enjoy my thoughts on why you might just love this job. I know I did.”

That’s it for this week’s selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my curation posts on this blog. On Fridays you can wrap up your week with “Weekend Leadership Reading” consisting of choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms.

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.

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