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 purpose
• Management focuses on tasks, timelines, and resources
• Calling every manager a “leader” hides harmful behaviour
• Organizations weaken culture when they don’t define the roles clearly

You’ll also hear three concrete actions to help teams name, model, and develop leadership and management as distinct skill sets — so the workplace can run well and feel human.

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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 supported
• “No time” is a leadership myth (and how great leaders use micro-moments)
• Curiosity is the gateway to better conversations
• Leaders must model their own learning
• The multidimensional career framework goes far beyond promotions
• Daily questions can build engagement, growth, and retention
• Development transforms workplace culture one relationship at a time

If you want to grow your people, deepen trust, build stronger teams, and become a leader people want to work for — this conversation will change how you think about development forever.

💡 Perfect for leaders, managers, culture builders, and anyone navigating their own career journey.

Hey! If you're enjoying the insights from our guests, you'll love our R@W Notes Newsletter. It’s packed with guest takeaways, the resources that inspire them, and my own tips on how we as leaders can be better humans for the humans the are responsible for. Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Subscribe Now and help the workplace be more human.

Want more from our conversations on the show? Subscribe to the R@W Notes Newsletter! It’s where I share top takeaways from our guests, the resources that fuel their success, and my personal insights on how we as leaders more human. And we need more human.
 Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Sign up today to keep your leadership journey on the right path. 

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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 leads to checkbox leadership, abandoned initiatives, and teams who stop believing anything is going to be different. Drawing from real stories, including an executive who celebrated a website without ever asking if anyone used it, Russel breaks down how leaders can shift the narrative.

You’ll hear:

• Why effort is the baseline—not the win
• How valuing impact strengthens trust, engagement, and culture
• Three practical actions to redefine success and hold leaders accountable

If you want to build a workplace where progress is real—not performative—this episode is for you.

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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 better boundaries and aligning time with values, this conversation offers practical steps to shift from burnout to balance — and from busyness to true productivity.

Hey! If you're enjoying the insights from our guests, you'll love our R@W Notes Newsletter. It’s packed with guest takeaways, the resources that inspire them, and my own tips on how we as leaders can be better humans for the humans the are responsible for. Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Subscribe Now and help the workplace be more human.

Want more from our conversations on the show? Subscribe to the R@W Notes Newsletter! It’s where I share top takeaways from our guests, the resources that fuel their success, and my personal insights on how we as leaders more human. And we need more human.
 Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Sign up today to keep your leadership journey on the right path. 

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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 matters most.
• Tell a story with your data that answers “why should leadership care?”
• Show up where it counts — from one-on-one meetings to leadership briefings.

If you’ve ever felt overlooked or under-valued despite great results, this episode is your reminder: hard work doesn’t guarantee recognition — but smart communication can.

🎧 Listen to learn how to speak up for your results and get the recognition your work deserves.

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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 culture where people take pride in results.

Michael Timms is the author of How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability: Three Habits That Make or Break Leaders and Elevate Organizational Performance.

Hey! If you're enjoying the insights from our guests, you'll love our R@W Notes Newsletter. It’s packed with guest takeaways, the resources that inspire them, and my own tips on how we as leaders can be better humans for the humans the are responsible for. Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Subscribe Now and help the workplace be more human.

Want more from our conversations on the show? Subscribe to the R@W Notes Newsletter! It’s where I share top takeaways from our guests, the resources that fuel their success, and my personal insights on how we as leaders more human. And we need more human.
 Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Sign up today to keep your leadership journey on the right path. 

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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 return with clarity instead of clutter.

Because a true break isn’t just time away from work — it’s reconnection with who you are outside of it.

If you’ve been feeling the pull to slow down or the guilt that comes with it, this episode is your reminder that rest is leadership.

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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.

Together, they explore:

• Why most “structure problems” are really leadership and communication problems
• How to align your strategy, values, and design so your people can actually succeed
• The difference between managing intent vs. managing impact as a leader
• How ego and fear of change block healthy redesigns
• What real accountability and trust look like when teams restructure

Whether you’re leading a department, a small business, or an entire organization, this conversation will help you see organizational design as a relationship practice — not a chart exercise.

🎙️ Featuring: Susannah Robinson, Executive Coach, Organizational Design Consultant, President of Partnership for Talent, and author of Beyond the Boxes and Lines: Transforming Business Results Through Organizational Design.

Hey! If you're enjoying the insights from our guests, you'll love our R@W Notes Newsletter. It’s packed with guest takeaways, the resources that inspire them, and my own tips on how we as leaders can be better humans for the humans the are responsible for. Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Subscribe Now and help the workplace be more human.

Want more from our conversations on the show? Subscribe to the R@W Notes Newsletter! It’s where I share top takeaways from our guests, the resources that fuel their success, and my personal insights on how we as leaders more human. And we need more human.
 Go to RelationshipsAtWorkShow.com and Sign up today to keep your leadership journey on the right path. 

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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 just poison the company little by little over time until it's not something that can be fixed anymore. 
Russel provides examples of how we invest in cultural debt and the areas we can pay attention to to avoid it. Join us as we discuss. 

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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 uniformity. Let's be respectful instead.
Russel shares real world examples of what we can do as leaders to encourage a respectful workplace and remove the roadblocks associated with being professional. 

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