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The 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.

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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 posts on asking for help, being needed, saying "thank you," coaching, and leadership jazz.

From Management Excellence: Learning to Ask for Help
"I’ve not met a person yet that doesn’t need help from time to time, and this goes double for anyone in a leadership role. Leadership is frequently lonely and those that take their role seriously truly fret over decisions surrounded by ambiguity."

Wally's Comment: There are two big benefits to asking for help. One is that you actually get help most of the time. The second is more subtle, you show that you need the person you ask.

From Ann Bares: The Immeasurable Value of Being Needed
"People do more because they appreciate being needed."

Wally's Comment: That "being needed" is powerful. We humans extend ourselves when we perceive that others need us. As Ann Bares points out, though, this is a powerful force that can work for you or against you.

From Scott Eblin: Why and How Leaders Need to Say Thank You
"Saying thank you is just the polite thing to do, right? Have you noticed, though, that polite behavior doesn’t seem as prevalent as it used to be? In the ongoing battle for our attention between getting results and building relationships, the focus on results seems to be in the lead.  For leaders that are all about the results, taking the time to say thank you often gets pushed down the list of things to do.  After all, you’re busy. They know you’re busy and probably know you appreciate their help. If you don’t have time to say thanks, it’s not that big a deal, right?"

Wally's Comment: Saying "thank you" is one of the simplest, most powerful things you can do as a boss and as a human being. That's a good start, but Scott Eblin expands on the basics with some sage advice.

From All Things Workplace: Managing & Coaching: It's About Support
"It's easy to see "support" as jumping in and bailing out someone who is struggling with a situation. Instead, create an up-front agreement telling when you'll be available as a sounding board to sort out ideas or explore solutions to problems. That way, you serve as an energizer: enabling learning versus directing it."

Wally's Comment: More good advice from Steve Roesler about how coaching fits into your work as a boss.

From Tanveer Naseer: 3 Steps To Help Get Your Leadership Groove On
"Recently, I read a wonderful post by fellow leadership blogger Gwyn Teatro where she wrote about what Jazz can teach leaders about the value of improvisation in their organizations. Being a big fan of this musical genre (one of my daughters’ drawings found on my site is of the blue cat mascot from our city’s famous Jazz festival), her piece really resonated with me and it also got me thinking about some of the other lessons that Jazz offers to the field of leadership."

Wally's Comment: To get the most from this post, you should read Gwyn Teatro's post which inspired it. Both her post and this one reminded me of the same two things. The first was Max De Pree's excellent book, Leadership Jazz . The second was this quote where Harry Connick, Jr. describes playing with Branford Marsalis: "It's incredibly rewarding, emotionally fulfilling and fun. But it's not easy."

That's it for this week's selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on "Leadership Reading to Start Your Week" which features five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about Twitter's CEO, putting employees first, thanking the people who work for you, the importance of physical location, and learning from Shakespeare's Henry V.

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.