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 Karin Hurt, Ken Downer, Mary Jo Asmus, Jesse Lyn Stoner, and Kevin Eikenberry,

From Karin Hurt: The Power of Observation: 6 Ways to Show Up Helpful

“After a few weeks in the role Verizon Sales exec., it became clear that there was a real difference between spending time in the stores and EFFECTIVELY spending time in the stores–observing what’s going on, learning, and being truly helpful to the team.”

From Ken Downer: Seeking Discomfort: 7 Ways to Embrace Uncomfortable Feedback

“Most people aren’t actively seeking discomfort. But if we are ever to improve, personally and professionally, we need to actually pursue uncomfortable criticism and lean in to it. Here’s a short story about one person who did, and what we can learn from his experience to make ourselves a little bit better.”

From Mary Jo Asmus: The benefits of listening more

“Many leaders have a role that they identify with – manager, boss, executive, team leader – whatever it is. Behind the veil of that role they make an assumption that they need to be the expert and ‘all knowing’. This can result in a leader tuning out the very people who can help them and their organizations to be successful. While there is a time and place for a leader’s knowledge and expertise,leadership success also requires the humble act of listening more than you are now.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: 8 Habits of Mentally Balanced Leaders

“What are the consequences? Being ‘always on’ keeps your work in the front of your mind and prevents you from being fully engaged in the present moment. There’s a lot you’re missing out on because your attention is focused elsewhere. You might discover you have lost connection with those you care about most or never develop real connections in the first place. It’s not enough to just take vacations. It is possible to become mentally balanced, even in a world that demands you to be always available, but you must change your habits.”

From Kevin Eikenberry: Why Coaching is the Gap Even When People Don’t Know It

“I talk with leaders nearly every day, and often I hear strains of angst and consternation about problems with their teams and team members. There is nothing wrong with identifying problems or issues. Unfortunately, too often after describing a problem, the conversation shifts to blame, frustration, and surrender. When we feel as if there is nothing we can do, we will do nothing. This is a dangerous place for a leader to be – and this danger must be avoided.”

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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