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 Chris Edmonds, Mary Jo Asmus, Julie Winkle Giulioni, Jesse Lyn Stoner, and Nina Simosko.

From Chris Edmonds: The Happiness Factor

“When I parked to go check in, I noticed someone in the brightly lit offices in front of me. An employee – a woman – was in her office, probably wrapping up her day. She was having a fine time – dancing boldly through her office. Dancing!”

From Mary Jo Asmus: Making a connection instead of solving the problem

“When an employee performance issue arises, think of it as a situation requiring a connection instead of a problem that needs solving.”

From Julie Winkle Giulioni: Feedback: What are your Intentions?

“Andy (a leader I met last week) was very disappointed. One of his employees had missed another deadline, making him and his whole team look bad with a high-profile client. Andy had learned that feedback was most valuable when shared in a timely manner, and he knew that he needed to start documenting performance. So he stopped what he was doing to have a conversation with the employee.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: How I Learned About the Power of Authenticity

“What happens when you have to admit you don’t know what you’re doing? Sometimes the power of authenticity is the key to turning things around. So I learned in my first job out of college.”

From Nina Simosko: Culture Beyond Equality

“For many years, I have championed a focus on women leaders, gender diversity and the way that leveraging female talent can drive innovation and profitability. I firmly believe that while equality is important, it is just one element in a broader mix of initiatives that needs to be addressed in parallel. Equality is not just the right thing for people, it’s the right thing for business, innovation, and profitability. Recent research by Silvia Anne Hewlett reveals a remarkable correlation between inclusive leadership, innovative output, and market growth – what she calls a ‘speak up culture’.”

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 industrialist’s dilemma, the state of manufacturing technology in 2016, innovation in organisations, five things to know from the World Economic Forum, and nine ways the workplace will be different in 2050.

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.