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 Alli Polin, Mary Jo Asmus, Ken Downer, David Dye and Karin Hurt, and Kevin Eikenberry.

From Alli Polin: Ever feel like you’re under attack? Here’s what to do.

“It was only once I started that I realized that my agenda and their’s deeply conflicted. I viewed my job to create a great place to work, not build a jail cell with lucite bars people wouldn’t know existed until they rammed into them face first. Then the attacks started. Slowly at first, not too aggressive, more low-key distrust and nastiness. Eventually, it built to all-out hostility, and there was no small tweak that I could make to make it trickle off. What can you do when you’re under attack?”

From Mary Jo Asmus: How listening more will change you

“In speaking to his employees, they told me that they really didn’t see much of him, and when they did he talked too much. He didn’t ask them how they felt about the future changes. He was more inclined to talk about how important the new technology they’d be installing was for the company. When they did speak up, he cut them off and pushed back on their ideas. In short, they weren’t listened to.”

From Ken Downer: Establishing Trust: Why the Details Matter

“We know that establishing trust is a key to leading well, but how do we go about it? An unexpected encounter in the back of a dark garage shines a light on how we can build the trust we need to lead.”

From David Dye and Karin Hurt: How to Be Okay When It’s Time to Fire a Poor Performer

“Firing someone is one of the most difficult things most managers ever have to do. Even so, the decision to fire a poor performer is an important aspect of your leadership. Removing poor performers tells your top performers you value their time and effort.”

From Kevin Eikenberry: Hey Leader, Do You Feel Like an Imposter?

” As a leader, by most any standard, you have achieved a level of success. After all, not everyone gets promoted, or perhaps even multiple times, and now has the responsibilities and opportunities that come with leading others. While that may be the logical and even obvious truth, many leaders feel they have arrived not because of experience, skill, and wisdom, but by luck or the ability to ‘fool’ others. If you ever feel this, welcome to the imposter syndrome.”

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.

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.