Relationships at Work - a trust-driven leadership podcast
Relationships at Work - the leadership podcast helping you build workplace connection, improve culture, and avoid 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 - a trust-driven leadership podcast
Stepping Back Before Burnout: Why Pausing Is Powerful Leadership
In this Relationships at Work mini-episode, host Russel Lolacher gets real about the warning signs of burnout and why stepping back is one of the most important — and overlooked — leadership skills. Drawing from his own experience producing daily episodes, running a newsletter, and working a full-time job, Russel shares how to recognize when your passion is turning into a grind, and how to model sustainable leadership by setting boundaries.
You’ll learn:
- The early signs burnout is creeping in — before it hits hard
- Why pausing isn’t failure but a necessary leadership practice
- Three actionable steps to spot and address burnout early
If you’ve been feeling your joy fade, your fuse shorten, or your energy drop, this episode will remind you that protecting your well-being is how you protect your impact as a leader.
And connect with me for more great content!
Welcome back to Relationships At Work – A leadership podcast helping you build workplace connection, improve culture, and avoid 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…
When the Work Becomes... Work – Stepping Back Before Burnout
The last few months, I’ve tried something different with the podcast, recording and producing a daily show. That’s four themed episodes every week, plus a Friday solo one. Add to that writing this newsletter for my email subscribers and on Linkedin, creating social posts, building visuals, editing clips… and suddenly, this thing I love doing starts to feel less like a passion and more like a grind.
That’s when I know it’s time to pause.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a resource for you in how we can be better leaders. I also LOVE this learning for myself. My brain has expanded so much doing this show. And I LOVE sharing my insights while also meeting such amazing experts in their fields. All the love, love, love.
But did I mention I also have a more than full time job I adore?
So I need to make a change. I can't model and talk of great leadership if I don't recognize my own boundaries, now can I?
Burnout doesn’t usually crash in like a wave — it seeps in. It looks like staring at your computer for 10 minutes before getting back into reading what you were reading. It feels like putting off writing an email because you “don’t have anything to say” (when you absolutely do). And it sounds like the little voice whispering: “maybe do it later.”
I also find myself getting a little quicker to anger and frustration when in conversations. Or not having the energy or time to invest in other buckets fo my life. Or my afternoon crash is getting earlier and earlier.
So I need to take a pause, while also reminding myself...
Pausing isn’t failure. Pausing IS leadership. It's practicing and modeling healthy choices. It's certainly something I have to recognize for myself. And it’s a chance to look at the workload, the expectations, and the impact of what we’re doing — not just on the business, but on ourselves. Because if we can’t show up fully, consistently, and intentionally, what are we even building?
Our pauses don't have to be dramatic. Sometimes it’s stepping away from the desk for a day. Sometimes it’s deciding that “good enough” is actually good enough this week. Sometimes it’s taking a walk and letting your brain breathe before hitting publish. Sometimes it's just disappearing for a little while.
The pause is where we protect the work, so it can keep making the impact we want it to.
The Question: How do we know burnout is becoming an issue?
The Action(s): Here are three ways to tell before it’s too late:
- Check Your Joy Meter:When the work you love starts feeling like an obligation more than an opportunity. Regularly ask yourself, “Do I still enjoy this?” If the answer is consistently no, something needs adjusting.
- Audit Your Energy and Emotion:Track what drains you and what fuels you. Can you delegate, drop, or delay the draining stuff? And how are showing up with that energy from an emotional standpoint? Is it impacting others and their relationship with you? Could it?
- Ask Your Circle:Sometimes others see it before we do. Invite a trusted colleague or friend to tell you if you seem more irritable, checked out, or tired than usual.
Burnout doesn’t disappear on its own — it waits for us to either notice it or ignore it. Pausing is how we notice. It’s how we get honest with ourselves about what’s working and what isn’t.
If leadership is about building relationships and creating environments where people can thrive, that has to include the relationship we have with ourselves. So when you feel the signs creeping in — the joy fading, the fuse shortening, the energy dropping — don’t see the pause as weakness. See it as the practice of sustainable leadership.
It's time for me to take that pause and I look forward to seeing you on the other side of it.
