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 Lolly Daskal, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Dan Rockwell, Dan McCarthy, and Mary Jo Asmus.

From Lolly Daskal: 6 Lessons Every Great Leader Learns on the Job

“If you’ve ever taken leadership courses or training you have a good start, but there are some lessons that you can only truly learn on the job through trial and error. Here are six of the most important lessons that every great leader will end up learning on the job.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: Caught in Team Drift? Consider Honorable Closure

“Cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien used the term honorable closure to describe the practice of acknowledging transitions. According to Arrien, all societies have rituals that acknowledge major life transitions such as birth, marriage, and death. These rituals are important as they provide a conscious recognition of change and support the transition.”

From Dan Rockwell: 4 Ways to Throw Gas – not water – On Dreams

“Successful leaders don’t dream for others. They help others dream for themselves.”

From Dan McCarthy: How to Manage Yourself so Your Boss Won’t Have to

“What’s the difference between an employee that can’t seem to tie their own shoes without asking ‘mother may I’ and one that can perform with a high level of autonomy and accountability?”

From Mary Jo Asmus: How top leaders find their next developmental goals

“Because they are eager and motivated to work on themselves, they discover their development goals by staying aware! Realistically many leaders (you perhaps?) can find their next developmental goals by being more mindful. How can you be more alert and aware about what’s next in your own development? Consider what the best leaders do:”

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 leaders who inspire, the future of agriculture, the innovative mindset, four ways for women to get ahead in the business world, and why middle managers matter.

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.