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 Lolly Daskal, Steve Keating, Scott Eblin, Ken Downer, and Judy Sims.

From Lolly Daskal: If You Want to Be A Better Leader, You Must Do This

“In today’s fast-paced, frantic and frenzied world, there’s one thing above all else that leaders must do if they want to improve their attention, performance, relationships and—most of all—stress levels. Simply put, the secret to being a better leader is to have the discipline of pausing.”

From Steve Keating: People, Expense or Investment?

“There are two distinct mindsets in business today with regards to the people who make up an organization. One mindset, the one I’ll call a managerial mindset says that people are an expense. The other mindset, the one I’ll call a leadership mindset says that people are an investment.”

From Scott Eblin: What to Do When You’re Feeling Exhausted

“So, that raises a practical question – what do you do when you feel exhausted? I’m not asking for a friend; I’m asking for myself. Last week, because of an innumerable range of business demands all coming down at once, was the most exhausting week of the year for me. You’d think that since I wrote a book on how to get past being overworked and overwhelmed, I’d know what to do to get myself back on a healthier track. But, news flash, I’m human just like everyone else. Sometimes we get so exhausted that we can’t find the bandwidth to make the simple choices that will help us feel better and be better.”

From Ken Downer: Leading Through Transition: Tips for Leaders in Times of Change

“No, this is not another post about the seven leadership lessons we can learn from geese.  Yes, it does come from watching geese, but it’s something that others have overlooked, and it has to do with leading through transition.  And as usual, a simple demonstration by mother nature carries powerful lessons for us about how to lead in chaotic, unsettled times.”

From Judy Sims: How to Let Go of Being Right

“The most damaging thing about the ego is how it limits us. It focusses on the appearance of things rather than the truth and possibility of things. It will have us seeking confirmation and asking for input only from those who already agree with us. It will stifle our creativity. It will keep us on the safe side of controversy. Ironically, in our attempt to make ourselves feel big, we make ourselves smaller and less consequential.”

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.

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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