Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership podcast

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with speaker, author and change enthusiast Cassandra Worthy on how we can embrace difficult emotions and harness the power of change enthusiasm. Cassandra shares her experience and insights in... Emotional awareness as a foundation for change. Opportunity for change in adversity. Resilience is not just persistence, it requires rest and reflect...

What if being 'professional' is actually holding your workplace back? In this episode, host Russel Lolacher challenges the traditional norms and reveals why respect, not rigid professionalism, is the key to a thriving, diverse workplace. The idea of professionalism is usually about aligning behaviours, dress codes, communication styles and work ethics around the norms of the dominant cul...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with author, executive coach and leadership expert  Morag Barrett on how to establish and build workplace connections. Morag shares her insights and experience in.. The importance of trust in work relationships. Building and recognizing connection. Loneliness in leadership is a real issue. Intentional relationship management. Power of an abund...

Is your leadership style disrespecting your team's time? In this episode, host Russel Lolacher reveals the subtle ways leaders overlook others' time and offers practical tips to show genuine respect, regardless of hierarchy. We all have work to do and deadlines to do them by. But as leaders looking to build connection and relationships, it's vital that we treat others with respect w...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with the chairman and chief executive officer of Baker Donelson, Tim Lupinacci on managing change in a traditionally change-resistant industry. Tim shares his insights and experience in... Leadership through relationships Challenging traditional structures Opportunistic change management Balancing tradition and innovation Cultural shift throug...

What if executive presence is less about fitting a mold and more about how leaders truly show up? In this episode, host Russel Lolacher challenges the traditional view and offers fresh insights on crafting a meaningful and impactful executive presence. Executive presence is always seen as whether staff fit the mold of their C-Suite, when it also could mean something as equally important - how exec...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with instructor, consultant and academic Aleha Ingles on the value of culture audits and where to start in our organizations. Aleha shares her experience and insights in... Importance of leadership awareness. Consistent cultural audits to keep up with change. Setting clear communication expectations. The need for psychological safety in audits...

What if leadership guardrails are the secret to staying on track? In this episode of Relationships at Work , communications and leadership expert Russel Lolacher explores the crucial role these boundaries play in challenging leaders and offering perspectives they might otherwise miss. Russel shares real-world questions that effective guardrails should raise and reveals how they can transform both...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with personal branding image consultant Shelley Golden on the importance of appearance and how to show up in the right way for work. Shelley shares her experience and insight in the... Importance of appearance on perception. Standards of professional attire. Detailed appearance reflects work ethic. Comfort can still work with professionalism....

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher digs into "soft skills" and why calling them soft couldn't be further from the truth.  Though language around "soft skills" is changing, the importance we put on these essential skills continues to struggle.  Russel shares multiple reasons why these skills are so importa...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with researcher and work stress and burnout prevention consultant Nina Nesdoly on how understanding neuroscience is the key to addressing stress and burnout. Nina shares her insights and experience with... Understanding stress and burnout Impact of stress on cognitive abilities Overwhelming stress and cognitive function Neuroplasticity and bur...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher highlights the importance of what do as much as how we do it in our leadership.  No leader wants to hurt or fracture their team culture, but if we don't better align our intentions with our actions, we could do far more damage than we realize.  Russel shares real world examples of how well-...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with leadership communication consultant John Bates on how understanding neurobiology helps us connect through communication. John shares his insights and experience with... Effective communication is not just logical but biological. Importance of trusting gut feelings The value of sharing leadership stories to for promotion. Small talk is rea...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher shares more effective job interview questions to understand leadership. Interview questions are extremely formulaic, regardless of industry. Almost all are focused on productivity, with very few determining the applicants leadership experience and quality.  Russel shares why organizations stick...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with master facilitator and executive coach Paul O'Beirne on what a first-time leader really needs to know and so does the organization they work for. Paul shares his insights and experience in... Transition challenges for new leaders. Importance of support systems. Leadership vs. management. Understanding role and relationships. Asking f...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher explains the importance of regular leadership tests to ensure we're on the right track. As a leader, how do we know we're any good? That comes from regular check ins in how we react to circumstances at work. We need to proactively be curious about ourselves and take a daily interest in...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with author and executive coach Mark J. Silverman on understanding and approaching leadership ambition. Mark shares his experience and insights on... The root of true ambition. Reckoning with ambition's impact at work. Self-awareness and authentic ambition. Generational shifts in ambition. Balancing ambition with authenticity. Organizatio...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher shares the importance of not prioritizing productivity over humanity. The ends can not justify the means.  As a leader, it's vital that we provide a service or product, and deliver countless things along the way. The problem is when leaders achieve those results without regard for the human...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with authors and Edelman Executive Vice-Presidents Elena Grotto and Felicia Joy on understanding leadership influence and its impact on teams and workplace culture. Elena and Felicia share their experience and insights on... Continuous learning and adaption as leaders. Balancing humanity and productivity. The modern workplace as a laboratory f...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher discusses the causes and answers to cultural debt. Technical debt is a common term in software development to explain growing issues caused by not properly addressing problems. By only implementing "band-aid" solutions, the root problems only continue to grow and fester. Cultural debt...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with best-selling author, drama researcher and headline speaker Cy Wakeman on focusing on a reality-based leadership approach to improve accountability at work. Cy shares her insights and experience in: Why we need to self-reflect and be personally accountable. Reality-based leadership practices. Cultivating curiosity and compassion to underst...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher highlights the hypocrisy of organizations not asking applicants for feedback and why they should.  Leadership often talks about the importance of feedback, including for applicants (successful or not) to ask for debriefs after their hiring experience. So why don't organizations take their o...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with author, speaker and Chief Enthusiasm Officer Dr. Randy Ross on the importance of connecting values to employee retention. Randy  shares his insights and experience in: Holistic employee experience Values and behaviour alignment. Ethical and aesthetic components of values. Alignment and authenticity of values. Continuous feedback and self-...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher recommends we share our values publicly to build better connection. Knowing our values is vital to our self-awareness and in helping us make decisions and setting boundaries that help our career and our employee experience. But they are too valuable to keep to ourselves. Share them. With everyon...

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel chats with author and Clockwork founder Nancy Lyons on the positive and negative impacts employees can have on company culture. Nancy shares her insights and experience in: The power of microcultures and employee influence. Leadership's role in shaping culture. What an authentic work culture is and is not. The agency of employees. Unlearning tr...