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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 great places to work, trust, questions to ask and answer, and the "reality" show "Undercover Boss."

From Reflection Leadership: Have You Ever Been Part of a Highly Functional Team?
"Unfortunately, I think most of us go through the majority of our work life without ever being part of a real team. Instead, we mostly spend our time as part of a group of individuals working on the same project. The difference between a team and a work group may seem small, but they can end up being worlds apart. When we find ourselves working within a real highly functional team we’re able to clearly see how different they can be. Working as part of a group that is truly a team is an amazing experience."

Wally's Comment: Tom Glover shares an insightful post based on his experience on a top-performing team. I've found that most people have had at least one similar experience in their working lives from an exercise I do in my supervisory training programs. The results of those exercises (the experiences of the participants) are the source for my "8 Characteristics of Highly Effective Workplaces." Tom gives you the view from the inside and links it to leadership behavior.

From You're not the Boss of Me: Trust: If You Build It, They Will Come…and Stay
"Trust. It’s a small word and yet, it holds the key to success in just about every walk of life.   And, it’s one of those things that is often hard earned yet easily destroyed.  That makes it precious. From a corporate perspective, we all pretty much know that building trust in organizations is key.  But what does it look like when it’s in action?"

Wally's Comment: Gwyn Teatro zeroes in on a key characteristic of any successful team: trust. It's slow a-building. But it's the stuff loyalty is made of.

From Terry Starbucker: The One Question Every Successful Leader Must Answer (Even Before It Is Asked)
"The supervisor is frustrated – in his mind, he has done everything right to manage his team to a successful outcome.  He carefully explained the task at hand and its deadline for completion, how it was supposed to get done (and by whom), and outlined the expected results. He has monitored the resulting team activity and provided useful feedback. And yet, the outcome was less than what he expected.   What went wrong?"

Wally's Comment: Terry Starbucker explains why many an exercise in setting clear expectations goes astray. Unless you've got robots working for you, this is important. Human beings have brains. Helping them understand your purpose, what Marines call "commander's intent," helps them do a better job. You have to answer the (often unspoken) "Why?" question, along with all the others.

From All Things Workplace: Help Competent People Grow Through Questions
"Leaders do have to tell people exactly what to do when a person isn't yet competent--and confident--about the task or assignment. (The whole "leader" thing isn't just about high-concept and vision). But how do you develop managers who are knowledgeable and committed? You can build increased confidence and deeper understanding by asking questions designed to help them make their own discoveries and decisions."

Wally's Comment: Steve Roesler comes at questions in the workplace from a different direction. He points out in this post that questions are one of the most potent training and development tools around. Then he suggests some specific questions to use.

Undercover Boss

The first show in the "reality" series, "Undercover Boss" generated lots of reaction, pro and con. Here's a pointer to Dan McCarthy's post.

From Great Leadership: Leadership Lessons from Undercover Boss: Episode 1
"The first episode of CBS’s new reality show “Undercover Boss” aired Sunday night right after the Super Bowl. For those of you that may not have heard, each week the show will feature a CEO that goes “undercover” to find out what everyday life is really like within their own companies. What a perfect opportunity for Great Leadership lessons and advice!"

But wait, there's another point of view. This one's mine.

Undercover Boss: A Repellant Piece of Trash
Undercover Boss is a repellant piece of trash. CEO participants know the game and are sure to come out looking good. Everyone else takes their chances. And everyone pretends they don't notice the cameras.

As you can tell from a glance at our titles, Dan and I have very different ideas about this series. I've included the differing posts for two reasons.

First, this is an excellent example of the kind of robust discussion that independent business blogs can generate. I believe that our well-phrased differences help all of us sharpen our understanding of issues.

The other reason I included these two posts is to point out that you can have strong disagreement and still have mutual respect and civil discourse. Without civil discourse in business, in government, or in the home, it's very, very hard to get anything good done.

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.