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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 on punishment as a good thing, delegation, accountability, being a cheapskate is not a motivational strategy, and cult-like development programs.

From Incentive Intelligence: Increase Punishment to Drive Individual, Team and Company Performance
"To run a quality company with a strong culture we need more punishment in our work places."

Wally's Comment: Paul Hebert nails a truth about the workplace. Praise alone is not enough. If positive consequences are the only ones you're delivering, you're not using all the tools in the box.

From All Things Workplace: When You Delegate, You're Still In It Together
"One of the joys experienced by a new manager is having an array of people to call on to "get it done." One of the challenges experienced by a new manager is having an array of people to call on to "get it done." I can't think of a role that's more challenging than managing, at any level. One of the traps, though, is a mistaken sense of what delegation is all about."

Wally's Comment: Delegation is often discussed as if it were a value, rather than one way of assigning work. Steve Roesler has some good advice on doing it right. He notes that even when you delegate, you're still accountable for results.

From Effective CIO: Whose fault? Yours.
"When people fail to get their jobs done as quickly and efficiently as possible, it’s our fault.  Period.  It doesn’t matter why they failed; we still own the problem.  That’s a hard concept for some people in IT to grasp and accept."

Wally's Comment: Speaking of accountable, Chuck Musciano devotes a post to the concept. This isn't just for IT leaders. Everyone who's responsible for group performance should read this.

From Gruntled Employees: Nickel-and-diming your employees

Wally's Comment: Jay Shepherd tells about one person's employer and their expense policy. If you see yourself in this story, it may be time to reform.

From Great Leadership: Beware of Cult-like Leadership Development Programs
"I've been writing about wacky leadership development programs for a while now. These are silly, ineffective, but well intended programs designed to teach leadership using all kinds of "creative" training techniques. These programs, although a waste of a company's money, are basically harmless and can even be fun. What I'm about to describe isn't harmless or fun. In fact, these programs can be dangerous. They can cause serious emotional and psychological damage, lower employee morale and productivity, and expose a company to costly lawsuits. Do I have your attention? Good; then please read on. If you are a training manager, HR manager, training provider, or a buyer of training programs, it's absolutely critical that you are aware of this"

Wally's Comment: This is a vintage Dan McCarthy post. First, he points you to some writing on cult-like training. Then he analyzes the implications for your company if you do it or sponsor it or send people to it. You may not agree with everything Dan has to say, but you will definitely get your brain fires burning.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.