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.
Not Everything Is Toxic: Why Great Leaders Lean Into Nuance and Context
It’s easy to label. It’s harder to understand.
“Our culture is toxic.”
“That leader is horrible.”
“This system is broken.”
But are they? Or are we missing the nuance and context that give us the real story?
In this episode of Relationships at Work, host Russel Lolacher challenges the rise of black-and-white thinking in leadership and workplace culture. He explores how embracing nuance and context isn't just helpful—it's essential for meaningful, human-centered leadership.
With real-world examples and actionable strategies, you’ll learn:
- Why binary thinking breaks down effective leadership.
- How to ask better questions before making assumptions.
- What situational awareness actually looks like in practice.
This episode is a call to leaders to get curious, stay present, and stop letting oversimplified narratives drive decision-making.
Because great leadership doesn’t live in absolutes. It lives in the grey.
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.
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…
The Vital Need for Nuance and Contex
Our minds like to simplify things. It’s easier for us to quantify, to understand. It’s where stereotypes come from—a nice, easy way to put something into a box, label it, place it on a mental shelf, and reference it as an absolute truth when needed.
The world is becoming quite divisive for this very reason. Everything is black or white, and if we suggest otherwise, we’re wrong. There’s no room for grey.
Cultures are toxic. Leaders are horrible. Systems are broken. There’s only one way of doing things (aka my way). If it hasn’t worked before, it’ll never work again.
But at work, as in life, nothing is ever that simple. And as leaders, we can’t fall into the trap of perpetuating these absolutes. To truly demonstrate great leadership, we need to embrace nuance and context.
Nuance is defined as a slight difference—the finer, more delicate aspects of something. Context, on the other hand, is about the circumstances that shape an idea, statement, or event.
So, how do nuance and context help us challenge those absolute statements? Let’s take one statement as an example: “Our culture is toxic.”
I’ve seen it posted on line. I’ve heard it from members of our community. A very straight forward, matter of fact, statement: “Our culture is toxic.”
Toxic to whom? Is it the entire organization or a specific subculture or a specific individual? Who is demonstrating the toxic behaviour? Who is enabling it? Is the entire culture toxic, or is it a few actions with big impacts? How are we defining "toxic"? Who gets to define it? Is it an individual or team issue? How long has this been a problem? What has been done (or not done) in the past? Is this based on one occasion or many? How well is the leader trained? What’s going on in their life outside of work? What’s going on in the life outside of work of the person that says it’s toxic?
Digging deeper for that nuance and that context, matters.
I’m not suggesting that a culture isn’t toxic when someone experiencing it says it is. If someone feels impacted by a toxic environment, we can't argue with their experience.
But I’m also not interested in taking it at face value without understanding the nuance and context behind it. On this podcast, we’ve talked repeatedly about leadership superpowers—self-awareness, communication, and, in this case, situational awareness. Few situations are ever just one thing to everyone. Great leaders get super curious so they can make informed decisions for their teams—those they are responsible for and accountable to.
On the flip side, leaders also can’t assume everything is fine. That only masks problems others might be experiencing. I’ve seen executives take the word of bad leaders that "everything is great" when it’s far from it. That’s the thing—bad leaders are great at fooling their bosses, but not so great at fooling their teams.
The Question:
How can we embrace nuance and context in our situational awareness at work?
The Action(s):
1. Actively Seek Diverse Perspectives
Relying just on your own perspective limits how much you can really understand—especially in complex situations.
Suggestion: Involve people with different experiences, roles, and backgrounds when analyzing problems. Or use techniques like Devil’s Advocacy or structured debate to uncover blind spots.
2. Invest in Contextual Research
Understanding the broader landscape and bigger picture ensures informed decision-making that aligns with realities beyond just your own.
Suggestion: Regularly review historical data, project outcomes, and patterns from previous work to identify what has (or hasn’t) worked in similar situations. One of my favorites? Approaching situations with a root cause analysis mindset to understand why things are the way they are.
3. Adapt Communication and Leadership Styles
Situational awareness requires flexibility—adapting your approach to fit the moment and the people involved.
Suggestion: Use emotional intelligence to read the room. Adjust your tone, language, and delivery based on your audience’s needs. Be present and mindful in interactions, paying attention to verbal and nonverbal cues that might signal underlying concerns.
Hope that helps. Nuance and context give us the bigger picture, rather than the microcosm of a moment. As leaders we have to consider the micro and the macro of our work environment. And nuance and context helps get us closer to true understanding and real leadership.
