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 Suzi McAlpine, Steve Keating, Kevin Eikenberry, Terri Klass, and Julie Winkle Giulioni.

From Suzi McAlpine: Why You Should Ditch New Year’s Resolutions And Goals In Favour of This

“This year I’m hopping off the New Year’s Resolution bandwagon. I’m even flirting with the idea of not setting any goals for 2018. (For anyone who knows me, this is a biiiig step. I’m goal addicted. I collect goals like Richard Branson collects tropical islands.”

From Steve Keating: Why Would Anyone Follow You?

“But even in a world of differences there are some things that most everyone has in common, and one of those commonalities is that the majority of people hold others to a higher standard than they hold themselves. It’s just far easier to speak your principles than it is to live them. And that’s likely a key reason why most people are not Authentic Leaders. Authentic Leaders, the type that we would all follow, hold themselves to a higher standard than they hold others.”

From Kevin Eikenberry: Eight Ways to Be a Better Leader in 2018

“Read this list and think about how well you do at each, through the eyes of your team. Consider getting some feedback from your team on this list too – ask them which areas they see you doing well, and where you would benefit from spending some effort.”

From Terri Klass: Six Reasons Holidays Help Rejuvenate Leaders

“So instead of looking at the holidays as just one more activity to check off our ‘to-do list’, let’s reframe our holiday lens. Let’s think of the holidays as a separation from one year to another and see how our family and friends can be the bridge to a New Year.”

From Julie Winkle Giulioni: Deconstructing the Development Mindset

“Since Peter Senge coined the expression ‘learning organization’ more than two decades ago, businesses around the world have aspired to leverage learning toward agility, transformation and long-term success. And most leaders will admit that they still struggle to make this dream a reality. But what if we reframe the conversation? What if we shift the focus from the organization to the individual?”

Book Suggestion: The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

Wally’s Comment: The Appendix on system archetypes is worth the price of the book.

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. Every Tuesday, “Leaders and Strategies in Real Life” helps you learn about leadership by studying what real leaders do. 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. 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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