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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 evidence-based management, coaching, accountability, motivators, and spring cleaning.

From Tracy Allison Altman: New evidence shows that evidence-based management can boost productivity.
"There's good news about the evidence on evidence-based management. In When There’s No Such Thing as Too Much Information, Steve Lohr (@stevelohr ) talks in the New York Times about recent research by Erik Brynjolfsson, a prof at MIT's Sloan School of Management."

Wally's Comment: Want to know more about data-driven decision making? Then this is the post for you. Good comment and pointers.

From Mary Jo Asmus: When You Coach, This is What Happens
"I’ve been teaching managers how to coach for several years – in groups, and also 1:1 in coach/client relationships. Having worked in the corporate world, and having an “aha” moment when I learned the process and skills in coaching, I find it an extremely valuable tool for managers to use at the right time, with the right people. It may come as no surprise that I love hearing stories from clients about the changes they notice in their organizations when they set about to intentionally coach others."

Wally's Comment: Mary Jo Asmus is an excellent and experienced coach who has also worked with executives to help them improve their coaching. Here's some insight into why making the effort to learn to coach effectively can have a big payoff.

From Patrick Lefler: A stark contrast in leadership and accountability...
"Earlier this week, the investigations of two separate accidents--one from the University of Notre Dame, and the other from the United States Marine Corps--were released. The accidents resulted in the death of a single individual from each organization. In the first accident, Notre Dame released its findings regarding the accidental death of Declan Sullivan, a junior film student from Long Grove, Ill., who was killed last fall while filming a Notre Dame football practice when the 40-foot lift he was using fell over in a 53 mph wind gust. And in the second incident, the Marines released their accident investigation regarding the January 2011 sinking of an amphibious vehicle during a training exercise in a Southern California harbor that killed 27-year-old Marine Sergeant Wesley Rice, who served two tours in Iraq."

Wally's Comment: There is no way to summarize this post adequately, but you should read it and ask yourself which of the two examples is more like what your organization would do.

From Laura Schroeder: One Little, Two Little, Ten Little Motivators
"My previous post examined the difference between motivation and engagement.  While engagement arguably leads to better overall performance, sometimes motivation’s the best you can do. Let’s face it, someone in a boring, repetitive job is unlikely to feel engaged, but it is possible to motivate them to do a better job."

Wally's Comment: Nothing fancy here, just a helpful review of ten motivators you should be aware of. I suggest using this list as a way to review what you're doing and what you could do.

From Terry Starbucker: It’s Time For Spring Cleaning: 10 Ways To Freshen UpYour Leadership
"It’s almost May now, and you’re starting to feel a little restless. A little stale, maybe. You’ve had your head down and your team focused for 120 days straight, and with the days now getting longer and the temptation to start “coasting” getting even stronger, you’ve hit a critical time of the year. It’s time to do a little spring cleaning. You need to freshen up your leadership, so you can keep your team hitting on all cylinders. And here are 10 easy ways to do that, starting NOW."

Wally's Comment: Good advice here. Stop. Take a breath. Review.

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 what will happen to paper books, culture, nagging (or not), and mastering the information tidal wave.

How I Select Posts for this Midweek Review

The five posts I select to share in my Midweek Review of the Independent Business Blogs are picked from a regular review of about sixty blogs I check daily and an additional twenty-five or so that I check occasionally. Here's how I select the posts you see in this review.

They must be published within the previous week.

They must support the purpose of the blog: to help leaders at all levels do a better job and lead a better life.

They must be from an independent business blog.

As a general rule, I only select posts that stand on their own, no selections from a series.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to the above.

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.

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.