Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership podcast

Is workplace positivity building trust — or masking real problems?

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher sits down with author Johanna Laurent to unpack the difference between authentic positivity and the kind that shuts people down.

They explore:

• Why leaders focus on what’s wrong instead of what’s working
• The self-work required before you can lead others well
• How to create space for honesty without sliding into ...

When did leadership stop being about people?

The rise of the term “People Leader” sounds progressive — but it may reveal a deeper problem. If leadership needs a qualifier, something’s already broken.

In this solo episode, Russel challenges the language we use and what it says about how we actually lead.

Because leadership without people… isn’t leadership.

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What can leaders learn from Olympic athletes?

Former cycling champion and high-performance coach Lee Povey breaks down why winning is out of your control — and why focusing on process, feedback, and adaptability is what truly drives performance.

This episode challenges hustle culture, fixed leadership styles, and ego-driven management.

Because the Olympic mindset isn’t about medals.

It’s about becoming better — every day.

Hey! If you're...

Putting time on a calendar isn’t investment. Sending a survey isn’t support.

In this solo episode, Russel Lolacher challenges leaders to stop assuming and start asking: What does meaningful investment actually look like for my team?

Because if they don’t feel it — it doesn’t count.

Curiosity. Consistency. Personalization.

That’s the work. 

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In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher sits down with leadership expert and author Kishshana Palmer to unpack why being “busy” has become one of the most damaging habits in modern leadership.

They explore how busyness blocks clarity, weakens relationships with teams, fuels burnout, and quietly erodes organizational culture. Kishshana shares how leaders can shift from constant reactivity to intentional strategy, wh...

“Let’s start the conversation” has become a comfortable way for leaders to delay real change.

In this R@W Note mini-episode, Host Russel Lolacher explores why talking about improvement isn’t the same as starting it — and how conversation without follow-through quietly damages trust, morale, and credibility at work.

Leadership isn’t measured by what’s said in the meeting.
 It’s measured by what happens after it ends.

And connect wi...

Motivation is often treated as something leaders can manufacture from the outside — incentives, goals, performance systems. But without purpose, motivation rarely lasts.

In this episode, Ryan Rigterink breaks down why purpose is personal, contextual, and constantly evolving — and why leaders get motivation wrong when they assume it’s one-size-fits-all. We explore how identity, experience, and intention shape engagement, how trust un...

Silence in leadership is rarely intentional — but it’s never neutral.

In this short R@W Note episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher explores how delayed communication, hesitation, and “waiting until we know more” can unintentionally create confusion, anxiety, and cultural drift on teams.

Leaders often hold back for good reasons: they want clarity, the right answer, or more information. But while leaders are thinking, teams...

ADHD in the workplace is often framed as a performance issue — but what if the real problem is job fit?

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher sits down with ADHD career coach Shell Mendelson to unpack why capable, skilled ADHD employees struggle in roles that were never designed for how they think, focus, and work.

Together, they explore why performance improvement plans miss the point, how workplace expectations ...

Many leaders say the right things about trust, empathy, and accountability—then quietly fail to follow through. In this short Relationships at Work episode, Russel Lolacher unpacks the difference between looking like a leader and performing as one.
You’ll learn how performative leadership erodes trust, why optics often get rewarded over impact, and how to audit your own actions to ensure your leadership shows up when it actual...

What really happens when you move up in an organization?

In this episode, Russel Lolacher talks with Sabina Nawaz, leadership strategist, executive coach, and author of You Are the Boss, about the unseen pressures of leadership advancement.

They explore why pressure—not power—changes how leaders show up, how advancement can quietly erode self-awareness, and the impact this has on teams and culture.

A candid conversation for leaders pr...

We talk a lot about what leaders say — but rarely about where they say it.

In this short episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher explores proxemics — the hidden language of personal space — and how distance, positioning, and physical presence quietly shape trust, power, and connection at work.

From offices designed to elevate authority, to feedback conversations that unintentionally trigger defensiveness, this episode unpac...

Presence at work isn’t about performance — it’s about awareness.

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher talks with Ryan Carey, CEO of BetterOn, about what presence actually means in the workplace and why leaders often misunderstand it. They explore how self-awareness shapes trust, connection, and the employee experience — and why presence is a skill leaders can develop, not a personality trait.

Hey! If you're enjoy...

Mentorship is everywhere in leadership conversations — yet many leaders still feel stuck without the guidance they actually need.

In this solo mini-episode of Relationships at Work, Russel Lolacher explores why so many mentorship attempts fall flat, what truly makes a mentor valuable, and how to stop searching for advice that sounds good but doesn’t help you grow.

If you’ve ever wondered why mentorship feels harder than it should, th...

Most organizations talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion at the executive level — or delegate it to HR.

But that’s not where DEI actually succeeds or fails.

In this episode of Relationships at Work, Russel speaks with Jonathan Njus about why middle managers are the real linchpin of DEI efforts — and why so many initiatives stall once they reach the middle of the organization.

Jonathan breaks down:

• Why middle managers quietly ...

Every leader has power—whether they acknowledge it or not.

In this solo mini-episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher explores the often-overlooked reality of leadership influence and how even small words, actions, or moments of absence can leave a lasting imprint on people at work.

Drawing from real leadership experiences and patterns he’s seen across hundreds of conversations, Russel breaks down why leadership impact ...

Most people can spot dysfunction at work.

Bad bosses. Endless emergencies. Burnout masquerading as productivity.

But the harder question is this: what role do we play in it?

In this episode of Relationships at Work, author and executive leader Eric Charran joins Russel Lolacher to unpack how dysfunctional workplaces actually take hold — and why self-assessment is often the missing step in breaking the cycle.

They explore how leaders re...

What happens when doing your job quietly turns into managing your boss’s ego?

In this Relationships at Work mini-episode, Russel Lolacher unpacks the real damage caused by bootlicking cultures — where praise is safer than honesty, silence is rewarded over truth, and employees spend more energy protecting leaders than improving the work.

Through a simple story and clear leadership reflections, this episode explores how fear-based lead...

Most leaders mean well.
 That doesn’t mean the impact lands well.

In this episode of Relationships at Work, leadership coach and author Dr. Joel Pérez draws on insights from his book Dear White Leader to unpack why good intentions often fall apart at work — and what leaders miss about power, identity, and impact.

A grounded conversation about how leadership actually shows up, especially when culture, trust, and accountability are...