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 Doug Thorpe, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, Suzi McAlpine, and Tanveer Naseer.

From Doug Thorpe: Managers! The Problem Is NOT the Problem

“Usually, the problem is not the problem. The problem is the way we are thinking about the problem.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: Why you over-manage, under-manage, and sometimes do both

“Let’s face it, when you delegate, the buck still stops with you. You’re still accountable for any screw-ups. When the stakes are high, no wonder you think you need to be front and center, to direct things and over-manage.”

From Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie: 4 Important Ways Leaders Earn Respect, Gracefully

“Respect is a much-talked and much-written about cornerstone of effective leadership, particularly the more human kind. Yes, leaders need to be respected because it leads to a bond of trust that enables a culture of accountability and success.”

From Suzi McAlpine: 6 Ways to Lead Your Team Through Turbulent Times

“How you handle hard times will set the tone for how your team handle those same hard times. If you’re running around like a headless chicken, or acting like a sulky toddler who missed out on their favourite ice cream, people will consider the way you are leading – and then they will quickly follow suit.”

From Tanveer Naseer: Why Expressing Gratitude Through Our Leadership Matters

“After spending time with my family this weekend and catching up with everyone, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between those moments of sharing words of gratitude with my family with those moments where leaders express gratitude to those they lead.”

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 the difference between good leaders and great ones, how collective learning improves innovation, how innovative companies get their best ideas from academic research, and building a high-performance, highly engaged culture.

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.

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