Relationships at Work - The Leadership Guide to Building Workplace Connections and Avoiding Blind Spots.
Relationships at Work - your leadership guide to building workplace connections and avoiding 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, discussing the leadership and corporate culture topics that matter with global experts help us with the success of our organizations (regardless of industry). This show will give you the information, education, strategies and tips you need to avoid leadership blind spots, better connect with all levels of our organization, and develop the necessary soft skills that are essential to every organization.
From leadership development and training to employee satisfaction to diversity, inclusivity, equity and belonging to personalization and engagement... there are so many aspects and opportunities to build great relationships at work
This is THE place to start and nurture our leadership journey and create an amazing workplace.
Relationships at Work - The Leadership Guide to Building Workplace Connections and Avoiding Blind Spots.
Beyond the Checkbox: Building a Leadership Learning Plan That Lasts
In this episode, host Russel Lolacher tackles the pervasive issue of "checked-box leadership" in leadership training — when organizations send employees to leadership programs without a strategic plan for continued growth.
Education and professional development are vital, but without follow-up, support, and real opportunities to apply new skills, they become wasted efforts. We'll share stories like the HR professional who left a conference inspired but unsure how to implement her newfound knowledge back at the office. Join us as we outline actionable steps to move beyond ticking boxes, including providing ongoing coaching, setting measurable goals, fostering peer learning communities, and integrating leadership skills into performance evaluations.
Let's explore how organizations and leaders can truly invest in their teams' development, turning initial training into a stepping stone for continuous growth.
And connect with me for more great content!
Welcome back to Relationships At Work – Your leadership guide to building workplace connections and avoiding blind spots.. I’m your host Russel Lolacher
I’m a communications and leadership nerd with a couple of decades of experience and a heap of curiosity on how we can make the workplace better. If you’re a leader trying to understand and improve your impact on work culture and the employee experience, you’re in the right place.
This mini-episode is a quick and valuable bit of information to shift your mindset for the week ahead and beyond.
Inspired by our R@W Note Newsletter, I’m passing on to you…
Leadership Training, Done! OK, Now What?!
Ever heard this before...?
“Do you know how you can spot the bad leaders? They're the ones who went to school for it.”
That was a frequent joke I heard from many after I graduated from university. The same was said about those with communication degrees. (Note: that's the degree I have) But there is something to it.
Education, professional development, whatever you want to call it, is absolutely vital to growth. It keys into that essential curiosity all leaders must have, it expands your thinking and it provides new experiences. But that is also just a checked box. It begins and ends. And if you've heard my podcast or read our R@W Note newsletter over time, you know checked-box leadership is a problem that allows organizations to focus far more on intent than on impact.
Taking a course, getting a degree, completing training finishing a program…all great. But if there’s no follow up of learning or direction or opportunity or support... it’s a wasted effort. It's not strategic. It's not supportive. It's a checked box. It allows organizations to say they support leadership by sending staff to get certification, rather than nurturing those leader to with a foundation to then grow from.
I've told this story before but one of the biggest takeaways from the Workhuman conference I attended in the summer of 2024 in Austin, was not from the stage, not from the booths, or any of the experts… It was from what I overheard in the hallways. An HR professional was talking on her phone to a colleague back at the office, raving about the learning and the connections she was making. But she ended the conversation by asking, "But what am I supposed to do with this when I get back to the office?"
This told me there was no plan from her leadership. There was no next step. The conference was a checked box. This was a professional development check box. Not a source for learning, growing and improving for the HR professional or for what she could add to the workplace.
It's ironic to have a leadership program without a leadership plan.
To ensure our learning isn't lost and to demonstrate actual investment in this effort, we can implement some infrastructure. Consider these steps:
1. Provide regular coaching and mentoring sessions to help leaders apply what they've learned and address any challenges they face in real time.
2. Schedule follow-up sessions or refresher courses to reinforce key concepts and skills. This can help to reinforce the learning and address any new issues that have arisen. This way the learning doesn't end.
3. Have those attendees create action plans and set specific, measurable goals based on their training. Regularly review these plans and goals to track progress and make necessary adjustments.
4. Establish peer learning groups or communities of practice where leaders can share experiences, challenges, and best practices. This fosters a culture of continuous learning and support.
5. Make sure those leadership skills and behaviours are a part of the performance evaluations. This ensures that the skills learned in training are recognized, rewarded, and developed.
6. Assign those leaders to projects that require those new skills and knowledge. This gives them practical experience and reinforces that learning in real-world scenarios.
Completing a program, finishing a degree, getting certified… should be ONE step in the leadership journey.
As organizations, as leaders, we can do better in supporting that journey for our teams.
And as learning leaders ourselves, we should be advocating more from those stopping short and checkboxing our development, rather than actually supporting our learning journey
