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 Mary Jo Asmus, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Chris Edmonds, Lolly Daskal, and Suzi McAlpine.

From Mary Jo Asmus: How to make one helluva good person, together

“I sat with two leaders in one of the last meetings we’d have. Six months of hard work by these two dedicated leaders who were leaders at odds with each other in an organization had paid off, and we were discussing what they’d learned.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: Why Your Company Values Might Not Matter

“It makes good business sense to be values-driven. Several studies have shown that high-trust companies significantly outperform low-trust companies in the marketplace. So why do so many companies fail to do this? Here’s a typical approach and 5 common errors that will make your effort a waste of time.”

From Chris Edmonds: Is Your Top Talent At Risk?

“Recruiters are seeing greater willingness from top talent to learn more about potential jobs. One head hunter said that about half of targeted players accept interviews today compared to 25% a few years ago. What do these numbers mean for you? These indicators place greater demands on leaders to create safe, inspiring workplaces for every player.”

From Lolly Daskal: Lead People to Believe in Themselves

“The best leaders are those who lead people to believe in themselves. People believe in themselves when they have a reason to commit to something significant and meaningful.”

From Suzi McAlpine: A Big Leadership Lesson From A Small Bird

“But just like my little sparrow, it’s the ordinary that can be extraordinary, if we only truly see it. We have become so busy searching for the ‘next big thing’. And we have lost the art of seeing beauty and value in the everyday.”

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 include the big lie of strategic planning, improving apartment rental listings, the Economist’s innovation awards, women as negotiators, and the benefits of treating employees well.

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.