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PODCAST

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership podcast

Russel Lolacher

Relationships at Work - the leadership podcast helping you build workplace connection, improve culture, and avoid blind spots. A relatable and honest show on leadership, organizational culture and soft skills, focusing on improving employee engagement and company culture to inspire people to apply, stay and thrive.Because no one wants leadership that fosters toxic environments at work, nor should they.Host, speaker and communications leader Russel Lolacher shares his experience and insights,

business management

All Episodes

9:25

What a Christmas Table Taught Me About Employee...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/19

Employee retention isn’t built with perks, programs, or forced fun. It’s built in the moments where leaders choose to listen, trust, and let teams be themselves. In this mini-episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher shares a simple Christmas decorating story that explains why his team stayed together for nearly 12 years — and why high retention is never an accident or a “unicorn.” This episode breaks down: Why autonomy matters more than engagement initiativesHow leaders accidentally ...

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50:09

How Influence Really Works at Work

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/15

Influence gets thrown around like a leadership buzzword — but most people misunderstand what it actually is. It’s not authority. It’s not persuasion. And it’s definitely not performance. In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel sits down with author and former CIO Brad Englert to unpack the real mechanics of influence inside organizations — the kind that builds trust, shifts culture, and turns critics into advocates. Brad shares stories from his career at Accenture and the University ...

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11:39

Fixing the Leadership Blame Game

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/11

It’s easy to blame a leader. They’re visible. They’re the face of decisions. They’re the ones we point to when work feels confusing, frustrating, or overwhelming. But what if the problem isn’t just the leader—what if it’s the system that shaped them? In this mini-episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher breaks down the real reason so many leaders struggle: they were never given the clarity, tools, or support to lead well in the first place. Drawing from the R@W Note newsletter, ...

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54:09

Soul Health at Work: The Missing Layer of Leadership

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/08

We talk a lot about mental health and physical wellbeing at work — but almost never about the part of ourselves that drives meaning, connection, energy, and authenticity. Enter soul health. In this episode of Relationships at Work, founder and CEO of Quantum Sense Pam Buchanan joins me to unpack why so many employees still feel unseen and unfulfilled, even in workplaces overflowing with perks. We explore why leaders default to ego-driven decisions, how energy (not time) shapes performan...

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8:03

Leaders vs. Managers: The Cost of Mixing Them Up

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/04

Too many workplaces use “leader” and “manager” interchangeably — and it’s hurting their people and their culture. In this solo episode, Relationships at Work host Russel Lolacher explains the real difference between leadership and management and why misunderstanding the two leads to frustration, disengagement, and poor decision-making. Russel explores how: Leadership focuses on people, growth, and purposeManagement focuses on tasks, timelines, and resourcesCalling every manager a “leader” hid...

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54:12

Why Development Is a Relationship

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/12/01

Most leaders treat development like a checkbox — a course, a conference, an annual review. But what if the real key to growth and retention isn’t an event… but a relationship? In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel sits down with leadership and career development expert Julie Winkle Giulioni to rethink how growth actually happens at work — through trust, curiosity, and small, meaningful moments shared every day. Julie breaks down why: Development only happens when people feel ...

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9:14

Why Leaders Must Celebrate Impact, Not Effort

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/20

In this solo episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher digs into a leadership trap that quietly damages culture, disengages teams, and derails real progress: celebrating effort instead of impact. We hand out recognition for hard work, long hours, new initiatives, “busy-ness,” and well-packaged plans—but rarely pause to ask the only question that matters: Did any of this create meaningful change? Russel explores why organizations reward motion instead of momentum and how this lead...

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45:32

Beyond Busyness: Turning Time Poverty Into Time Wealth

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/17

We’ve been taught that being busy means being successful — but what if it’s actually holding us back? In this episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher talks with performance optimization expert and author Peggy Sullivan about how to escape “time poverty” and achieve more by doing less. Peggy shares how leaders can recognize the traps of constant hustle, eliminate low-value activities, and replace them with purpose-driven priorities. From tackling meeting overload to setting bett...

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10:12

Why You Need to Speak Up for Your Results

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/13

You’ve heard it before — “let your results speak for themselves.” But in reality, results don’t talk — you do. In this solo episode, Relationships at Work host Russel Lolacher breaks down why staying silent about your success can stall your career and how communicating your impact with clarity, alignment, and presence helps leadership truly see your value. Russel shares actionable ways to advocate for yourself and your team: Align with leadership priorities so your wins connect to what ...

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53:11

How Leaders Inspire Accountability: Turning Ownership...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/10

Accountability in leadership isn’t about blame — it’s about ownership. In this episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher talks with leadership expert Michael Timms on how great leaders inspire accountability by modeling it first. Together they explore how to move beyond micromanagement, empower teams through clarity, and build trust that fuels performance. You’ll learn how to: Redefine accountability as ownership, not punishment.Model accountability to inspire your team.Build a c...

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10:17

How Do You Know You've Even Taken a Break?

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/06

We talk a lot about the importance of taking breaks — but how do you know when you’ve actually had one? In this solo episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher shares what happened when he took a real pause from creating, producing, and strategizing — not because he stopped caring, but because he cared too much to keep going unsustainably. Through small grounding habits, reflection, and honest self-checks, Russel explores what it means to step away with intention — and how to retu...

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48:53

Getting Organizational Design Right

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/11/03

Most leaders think their organizational problems are structural — that if they just rearrange the boxes on the org chart, everything will flow better. But as organizational design consultant and executive coach Susannah Robinson explains, that’s rarely the real issue. In this episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher and Susannah break down what organizational design actually means — and how it connects directly to leadership behavior, culture, and employee experience. Toge...

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10:46

How Leadership Can Stop Investing in Cultural Debt

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/10/27

Originally released: June, 2024 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 is the same in that organizational issues unaddressed or avoided, will jus...

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8:50

Why Respect Outshines Professionalism in Today's...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/10/20

Originally released: August, 2024 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 culture. This is a barrier to diversity and innovation, while promoting uni...

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9:53

Leadership Alert - Avoiding the Pitfalls of Change...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/10/13

Originally released: April, 2024 In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher showcases common resistances to change at work and how leaders can avoid these pitfalls. Change is a constant in the workplace, but so is resistance to it. The success and failure of change will be found in how leadership introduces, leads, implements and follows up on that change, and in how they respect what's come before. Russel shares ...

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8:54

Stop Babysitting, Start Leading - A Leadership...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/10/06

Originally released: January, 2025 Ever felt like you’re "babysitting" your team instead of leading them? You’re not alone. Many leaders hit a point of frustration, but that feeling is a signal—an opportunity for reflection and growth. In this episode, we explore why some leaders feel this way, what it says about their leadership approach, and, most importantly, how to shift from micromanaging to mentoring. Learn actionable steps to empower your team, foster accountability, and redefin...

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9:55

Leader Shout Out! - Stop Keeping Your Values All To...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/09/29

Originally released: May, 2024 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 everyone. It'll benefit us as leaders, our teams and the organization. R...

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8:47

Leadership Gap - What Leaders Believe and Employees Know

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/09/22

Originally released July, 2023. In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher highlights the gap between leadership assumptions and employee reality. Numerous surveys have been conducted by SHRM, Deloitte, Forrester showing executives have a very different perception of their organizational culture than those who work for them. Russel asks the question, "but how do you know?" to challenge those leaders who make assumptions, dis...

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12:01

Stepping Back Before Burnout: Why Pausing Is Powerful...

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/09/19

In this Relationships at Work mini-episode, host Russel Lolacher gets real about the warning signs of burnout and why stepping back is one of the most important — and overlooked — leadership skills. Drawing from his own experience producing daily episodes, running a newsletter, and working a full-time job, Russel shares how to recognize when your passion is turning into a grind, and how to model sustainable leadership by setting boundaries. You’ll learn: The early signs burnout is creeping in...

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15:36

Building Cultures That Learn from Failure

Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership... ·

2025/09/18

Part 4 of our 4-part conversation on turning adversity into opportunity. Organizations often say they embrace failure — but do they really? Executive coach Whitney Faires and host Russel Lolacher dive into how leadership accountability and honest feedback shape a healthier workplace culture. From avoiding toxic positivity to taking extreme ownership, Whitney shares why cultures that accept setbacks as learning opportunities unlock trust, loyalty, and long-term success. And connect with me for...

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347 results

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