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 leadership posts by Sharlyn Lauby, Todd Ordal, Karin Hurt and David Dye, Steve Keating, and Scott Eblin.

From Sharlyn Lauby: Repairing a Work Relationship Involves Planning the Conversation

“So, I wanted to take some time to elaborate. I believe when you have a conflict with another person ( attr(href) ) the first question you need to ask yourself is ‘Do I want to make this relationship better?’. Honestly, sometimes the answer is ‘no’ or it’s ‘only if I don’t have to work too hard at it’. We also know that sometimes that’s the right answer and we can’t punish ourselves for taking this approach.”

From Todd Ordal: Workplace Changes: Enlightenment or Entropy?

“It’s easy to draw a trend line from a current headline and assume the world is going to hell. As someone who coaches business leaders, it’s easy to wonder about whether business has taken a sharp left turn toward something we don’t understand. My colleague Art Petty’s recent post (‘People Don’t Want to Manage and That’s a Problem ( attr(href) )’) got me thinking (perhaps dwelling) on this. Being a leader seems to be as popular as being a cop right now. It’s hard to willingly take a position where you can’t seem to do anything right!”

From Karin Hurt and David Dye: 12 Powerful Phrases to Help You Navigate Challenging Workplace Conflict

“It’s impossible to prepare for every workplace conflict. And, you can’t script influence. But it can be remarkably useful to prepare for inevitable workplace disagreements by considering what you might say before you need to say it.

Today we share a few go-to power phrases to help you navigate challenging workplace conflicts. Use these words, and others like them to foster connection, create clarity, show up a bit more curious, and move the conversation toward resolution.”

From Steve Keating: People are Not Assets

“Gosh I wish that were true. I wish when you watched those business leaders in action you saw that philosophy come to life. That you saw people being cared for, nurtured and developed. That’s what you should do for people. Sadly, most of those business leaders really do treat their people as just another asset.”

From Scott Eblin: Three Essential Rules for Influencing Your Colleagues

“I’ve had some amazing big picture leaders and influencers as executive coaching clients over the years and was talking with one of them last week. As part of a larger conversation, I asked him to share his top three rules for influencing colleagues and shaping the bigger agenda. These rules have definitely worked for him and will likely work for you too.”

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. And, at my blog for part-time business book authors, I share tools and insights to help you write and publish a book you’ll be proud of.

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