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.
Curiosity Over Criticism: How Leaders Can Foster Innovation
New ideas need curiosity, not immediate criticism. As leaders, our role isn’t to shut down innovation but to guide and refine it.
In this episode, we explore how the right questions can turn ideas into opportunities, while the wrong mindset can stifle progress. Learn how to shift from assumptions and dismissiveness to curiosity and engagement—building a culture where ideas thrive, and teams feel supported in their growth.
And connect with me for more great content!
Welcome back to Relationships At Work – Your guide to building workplace connections and avoiding leadership 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 help your mindset for the week ahead.
Inspired by our R@W Note Newsletter, I’m passing on to you…
New Ideas Need Curiosity, Not Criticism
I've always loved the viewpoint of leaders as mentors, as educators, as helpers. As those people who are there to offer guidance in the growth and journey of those they are responsible for.
An integral piece of this, is leaning into curiousity, especially when being introduced to new ideas. Curiosity usually looks like asking a lot of questions from various possible perspectives. "What about..." "Have you thought about..." "What if .... happens?"
Yes, there's a coaching element to this but what it's really doing is challenging those ideas in a supportive way. Helping our team members think differently and with new considerations, while also being a part of that journey.
Yes, it can get a bit annoying when we offer ideas we know are great and feel are the right way to go and we’re met with a wall of questions. But that’s not a bad thing. That’s interest. A leader is giving us an opportunity to convince someone it is the right idea. We have to be that leader.
Unfortunately there are some of us, usually unintentionally, leaning into criticism first. We hear a new idea and we dump our judgement and personal experience into the discussion.
I'm not talking about hard questions. Hard questions are so important to get to raise awareness of challenges that need to be addressed and to help get to the best solution possible - now or in the future. Hell, the right hard question may even cancel a project or initiative which actually should be seen as a win. It could save everyone time, effort and money
What we bring is our own baggage - only highlighting the things we can't do, all the things that could go wrong or all the things the team doesn't know. We're not leading in those moments. We're in the way. We're a hinderance, not a help.
Criticism can show up in a few ways.
- Assumptions - I've covered this in a previous episodes. Jumping to conclusions about the idea without fully understanding it. This could be assuming it won’t work based on past experiences, preconceived notions, or biases. In short, It’s the “I know better” attitude.
- Deflection – Shifting the focus away from the idea itself by pointing out unrelated problems, past failures, or external barriers instead of engaging with the actual merits of the suggestion. Slippery that one.
- Minimization – Dismissing the idea as unimportant, unrealistic, or unnecessary, without giving it any fair consideration. This can sound like, “We’ve always done it this way,” or “That’s not a priority right now.”
Here's what the right and wrong approach can look like:
Curiosity - Who is it for? Have you read this article, I think it might provide solutions to some of the challenges you're mentioning? Why this approach and not this approach? We're working on so many important projects and we can't fund all of them, why do you feel this is a priority right now? What does success look like? Have you considered working with this other team, they have insights that could help? Can I help in anyway? What do you need from me to help you achieve your goals?
Criticism - That's not how I would do it. Why haven't you done this or that? I remember we did this 5 years ago and it didn't work. You can't have those resources. Why is this even important? This isn’t how we do things here. This isn't good enough. We’re not Google (or any other big name), we can’t do that.
How did reading those make you feel? Criticism is an innovation killer. We should strive to be curious, not critical. Or we'll do more harm and hinderance that we expect. A few things to consider:
· Ask Open-Ended Questions: Instead of dismissing or judging an idea immediately, we should ask open-ended questions like, “What makes you think this could work?” or “How might this help us solve our current challenges?” This approach encourages exploration and understanding of the idea’s potential, and it models a culture of curiosity.
· Embrace a Beginner’s Mindset: We can consciously adopt a beginner’s mindset by approaching ideas as if we are learning about them for the first time. No baggage. This mindset shifts the focus from evaluating the idea’s flaws to exploring its possibilities, promoting an open and inquisitive conversation rather than a defensive or critical one.
· Delay Judgment and Reflect: If we're feeling the need to criticize, stop. Pause before reacting to these new ideas. We are allowed to take a moment to reflect on our initial thoughts and consider the potential value of the idea, even if it feels really out there. This helps us separate take time to separate our biases and assumptions, allowing for that more objective and curious approach.
Stop telling people all the ways that they're wrong and start showing how we can get them to the yes, to the next milestone... and what they need to learn along the way to get there.
We as leaders can be a source of inspiration and motivation, which comes from being interested and helpful. So flex those curiosity muscles. It'll only help our organizations, our team members to learn and to grow and to trust their leaders (us) are on their side.
