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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 new managers, when management is a bad choice, getting better, the basics, and leadership rules of the road.

From Great Leadership: Most New Managers Are Clueless About What it Takes to be Successful
"Here's an interesting new study by DDI, reprinted with permission. When it comes to new leader development, it looks like most companies are still using the old "sink or swim" model, and a lot of new leaders are drowning. It makes me realize what a great job we did at my last company preparing new supervisors and managers well before they were promoted, through formal programs, shadowing, mentoring, and assessments."

Wally's Comment: Dan McCarthy shares information from DDI about how unprepared most newly promoted leaders are for the challenges they face. One reason for this is that not nearly enough companies understand that leadership is a different kind of work from the work individual contributors have been doing. Another reason is that few companies help potential manages understand that, too.

From Art Petty: When Leading is an Unnatural Act
"One of the interesting outcomes I’ve observed when engaging truly thoughtful people in the process of understanding the role of a leader and the commitment required for success, is that some people decide it’s not a good fit. They decide to become great followers instead of great leaders.  And they feel relieved. We Tend to Make Saying “No to Leadership” Difficult.

Wally's Comment: Art Petty's post is a fine companion to Dan McCarthy's. Art has been one of the few who have discussed why and how potential managers should assess whether leadership is a job they want. In this post he points out that too many companies make turning down a promotion a career ending move.

From John Hunter: Learn by Seeking Knowledge – Not Just from Mistakes
"Being open to new ideas and new knowledge is what is needed to learn. Experimenting, seeking out new knowledge is even better."

Wally's Comment: We hear so much about "trial and error" and "learning from mistakes." John Hunter suggests a broader view of learning. How about "trial and feedback" and "learning from experience?"

From Tanveer Naseer: Why Leaders Shouldn’t Lose Sight of the Basics
"Last week, my wife and I decided to take advantage of the kids’ being off from school for March Break (what we call here la semaine de relâche) to go on a family vacation at a nearby resort. On the day we headed out from the city, we drove straight into one of this season’s biggest snow blizzards, turning a typical road trip into a more daunting and worrisome affair."

Wally's Comment: Here's a delightful post about the leadership lessons to be learned from why experienced truckers drive too fast on snowy roads.

From Scott Eblin: A Senior Executive Shares His Leadership Rules of the Road
"One of the most popular aspects of my company’s group coaching program, Next Level Leadership™ for high potential leaders is the senior executive guest speakers who come in for a lunch time “what I’ve learned” conversation. They talk about what they’ve learned over the course of their career and what they’ve had to pick up and let go of as they’ve taken on bigger jobs. We recently hosted an executive who’s responsible for about a billion dollars of annual revenue in his company. He had some very solid and practical rules of the road about what it takes to be a successful senior leader."

Wally's Comment: Scott Eblin brings in senior executives to share their accumulated wisdom with participants in his programs. This post shares the results of one such session. The sessions in Scott's programs are off the record, but you can frame his remarks when you know that the executive quoted works for a large, global company. There's lots of good stuff here.

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 Hermes, scenario planning, strategies that succeed, cultural change, and reducing complexity.

Here, on Three Star Leadership, I post things that will help a boss at any level do better and live a better life. At Results vs Activities, I join other bloggers with posts on talent development. My blog at the Toolbox for HR is People and the Changing Workplace .

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

And be sure to stop by at Weekly Leader where I'll offer you my Challenge of the Week.

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.