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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 leadership coaching, leadership lessons, rewards, the future, and lessons from vacation.

From All Things Workplace: Leadership: Coaching Clarity Needed
"There is an equal amount of fuzziness when it comes to Leadership Development. As a result, the coaching issue can get blurred. So here are some suggestions after a lot of years wrestling with the issue."

Wally's Comment: Coaching is hot. Coaching is important. But what, exactly, is leadership coaching? The shadow may not know, but Steve Roesler has some questions you should ask to figure things out for yourself.

From Terry Starbucker: My 10 Favorite Leadership Lessons
"In my 27 years in the business world, I’ve been fortunate enough to observe great (and not so great) leaders, read many books about leadership, and gain many years of experience as a leader myself. Through all this I’ve walked away with a ton of lessons about what makes a great leader, and I’ve enjoyed writing about many of them on this blog. But 10 of them are my favorites - the lessons that have “stuck” with me and are now a part of my daily practice.  The ones that I believe are critical to excellence in leadership."

Wally's Comment: Every now and then I find a post that packs a lot of thought into a small space. Terry Starbucker's post on leadership lessons is one of those posts.

From the Good Company Blog: Rewarded Employees Work Harder
"Rewarded rats work harder. This was the insight of psychologist B.F. Skinner had that has influenced psychology, education, and business for more than half a century. It appears that rewarded people also work harder – if we can only figure out the right rewards, and the right timing of the rewards, and how to transfer those rewards so that there is internal motivation to continue to work in the absence of immediate rewards, etc. It turns out to be a more complicated problem than it appeared in the laboratory."

Wally's Comment: This is a great post because it doesn't spend time arguing for rewards. Instead it gives you some solid ideas for choosing and implementing the best rewards.

From 4th Gear Consulting: Dangerous Curves Ahead
"It’s not about today’s leaders looking for a new set of rules to live by.  It’s about leaders who can themselves find the right solutions no matter what challenges are created by the economy, the customers or the competitors.  There are a myriad of good places that we as leaders can seek guidance, advice and instruction and we should.  But if we expect a new trail of leadership breadcrumbs to be laid out by a business school, or anyone for that matter, then we are missing the central element of what it means to lead."

Wally's Comment: Randy Hall discusses why it's a bad idea to develop strategies and leaders for a particular future.

From Management Excellence: Leadership Lessons Learned on Vacation-Leading by Letting Go
"For one who dispenses a lot of thoughts on leaders and leading, it is appropriate and just a bit humbling to be on the receiving end, especially when you are learning the lesson from your young adult children."

Wally's Comment: Art Petty has been on vacation. Even there, out in the woods, Art can't stop learning. Good thing he shares what he learns with us.

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.