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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 posts on learning to develop leaders, leadership in challenging times, shared responsibility for leadership, an overview of the job search industry, and the current and future state of HR.

From Great Leadership: How I've Learned to Develop Leaders
"Every once in a while I’ll get a question from a reader, co-worker, or student about how to break into the leadership development field. The reality is, it’s not really an entry level profession, and there’s no one right way to get there. The leadership development profession includes trainers, coaches, HR generalists, managers, authors, speakers, preachers, and every combination of these. They have degrees in management, organizational development, human resource development, psychology, education, and engineering. Some have certification… some don’t. So while I don’t have a good answer on how to break into the field, I can look back and share how I’ve learned (and continue to learn) about leadership development. I believe these could be repeatable learning experiences for someone just getting started."

Wally's Comment: Dan McCarthy has been at this leadership development thing for a while. That means he has experience. He's a fanatic about his own self-improvement. That means he's sought out new experiences and learned from it all. He's a solid writer. That means he can convey what he's learned. Go now, read and learn.

From Management Excellence: The Times Choose the Leaders. Is it your time?
"There is an undeniable dark reality here.  These are tough times to lead.  The times and tasks can sap the energy and spirit out of the strongest of us. The times choose the leaders.  It doesn’t work the other way."

Wally's Comment: These are tough times. Art Petty points out that you can learn a lot from what leaders have done in other tough times. But he also reminds you that those historical examples often underplay the uncertainty of the times and the messiness of the solutions. 

From Random Acts of Leadership: A Bridge to Nowhere…
"Take a look at the photo below and ask yourself, what is the purpose of the dock? I was at a friend's house the other day for the first time in daylight. Looking out from their kitchen window this is what I saw. The thought that instantly flashed in my head was, why the heck would anyone build what looked to me like a bridge that goes nowhere?"

Wally's Comment: Susan Mazza uses what she thought was a bridge to nowhere to lead us into learning about the way we share responsibility for the leadership we do and the leadership we experience.

From Dorothy Dalton: Job Search: The blame game?
"This continues my series on the key players in the job/candidate seeking process.  Under fire from job seekers, HR professionals and recruitment and search specialists respond. "

Wally's Comment: This is a wonderful and comprehensive review of the state of the recruiting business. You'll want to keep it for reference.

From Human Racehorses: Is HR a Dying Field?

Wally's Comment: Mike van Dervort initiates a discussion of the current and future state of HR. Read this. Ponder it. Read it again.

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.