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 Terri Klass, Ed Batista, Lolly Daskal, Kate Nasser, and Art Petty.

From Terri Klass: The Power Of Getting To Know Your Team Members

“What if instead of looking at our remote gatherings as merely work- related meetings, we decided to add a dimension of relationship building? That is exactly what I have been trying to do with a non-profit I am working with. At every one of our meetings, I pose a different question at the beginning that is thought provoking. The answers have provided amazing insights into what each team member is feeling as well as a deeper understanding of what makes each of us tick.”

From Ed Batista: To README or Not to README?

“A few years ago the idea of a ‘Manager README’ surged in popularity before provoking a backlash. The term was adopted from a type of software documentation that attracts attention because the all-caps title stands out in a list of lower-case file names, and I think that’s part of the problem–it sounds like a command, when it should really be viewed as an invitation to a conversation.”

From Lolly Daskal: How to Know If Your Leadership Is Helping Or Hurting

“In my work as a leadership coach, I see lots of leaders who are constantly in fixing mode—any time there’s a problem they jump in to take care of it. Their only thought is to help. But I always ask them, ‘Are you helping? Or are you unintentionally hurting the people you lead?'”

From Kate Nasser: Micromanagers: Reasons Employees Can’t Stand You | #PeopleSkills

“According to a Gallup study, micromanagers are poor-planning hypercritical bosses who are not involved very much with those they lead. Many are. Other micro-managers hover and employees wonder why they themselves came to work. This ruins productivity and morale. So here’s a stark look at why employees can’t stand you, the micromanaging bosses, and how to change the way you manage.”

From Art Petty: Fixing the Fatal Flaw in New Manager Development

“Peel the onion layers and get closer to the root cause of new manager mis-development: the relationship between the promoting and new manager is often fatally flawed.”

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.

The 347 tips in my ebook can help you Become a Better Boss One Tip at a Time.

Just promoted from individual contributor? Check out my ebook, Now You’re the Boss: Making the Most of the Most Important Transition in Business.