Business minds will gather over a networking breakfast in Albury this week to explore leadership, connection and capability in changing times. Photo: time2talk.
“It’s a privilege to be a leader,” says Sharon Kneale, the director at time2talk, an organisational development consultancy that specialises in building high-performance teams and future leaders.
“The things that we do and say, the decisions we make, how we develop them as a leader, the impact we have on our people, is quite significant.”
Sharon will be one of the presenters at a networking breakfast this Friday (14 November) for local business leaders at Atura Albury, exploring the topic of building culture and capability in uncertain times.
Presented in conjunction with Albury Business Connect, the session will explore how organisations face the increased risk of employee burnout, low morale and other challenges in today’s fast-changing economic climate. It will present strategies for leaders to build a stable foundation and a resilient culture amid uncertainty.
“Your leader at work is one of the most important people in terms of your mental health,” Sharon says.
“If we can send our employees home from work having had a great day, and having a lot of energy still for their family and what goes on outside their work life, we are helping them achieve a really good work-life balance.”
Sharon acknowledges leadership is no simple task — especially in a time of rapid change and mounting external pressures such as the high cost of living, making leadership roles within organisations more demanding than ever before.
In regional areas, Sharon says, the leadership load is heavier still. Beyond the usual pressures, there are added layers — natural disasters such as fire and flood, finding talent in a population size that contrasts sharply with metro areas, and the challenge of securing housing when recruiting from outside the region.
“There’s multiple issues to navigate,” she says. ”Leaders now have to be more mindful, they have to have conversations. We have to demonstrate empathy and we have to be cognisant of mental health issues.
“We also have to deal with five different generations in the workplace, which can be tough, and we are likely to be less resourced than we were before, with budget constraints and clients and customers who are also going through tougher stuff.”
With trust and transformation on the menu, time2talk director Sharon Kneale, along with other presenters, will lead a powerful morning of leadership learning at the networking breakfast. Photo: Supplied.
At the networking breakfast, Sharon and the team of speakers will equip business leaders with practical tools to foster resilience, empower capability and build cultural stability amid evolving challenges.
“You need to connect with your people and communicate as much as you can,” she said.
“We can’t control many of the external factors, but we can control how we work together and support each other, our workplace behaviour and how kind and respectful we are to each other, and that makes a difference in today’s workplace.”
Sharon reflects on a pivotal moment early in her career, when — young, pregnant, and full of self-doubt —she was promoted to an executive team in the pharmaceutical industry.
Her leader’s belief in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself, sparked a profound shift in confidence and purpose. That trust became a driving force, shaping how she leads today and reminding others that sometimes, all it takes is one person backing you to change everything.
“We had a reunion recently and I was able to do a little speech and I said to Rob, my leader at the time, ‘You believed in me more than I believed in myself when you put me on that team and it changed my career, it changed how I saw myself. I then worked hard for you because you believed in me so much’,” she said.
“I’ve carried that with me since.”
Sharon said research consistently showed people want more than just a job — they want a role that connects to their purpose. When work taps into your ”why”, it becomes meaningful. But purpose alone isn’t enough; having a supportive leader is crucial.
“As the saying goes, ‘People join organisations, but leave leaders’, which reflects the common belief that leadership quality impacts employee retention,” she said.
“When someone backs you, they’re not just offering a role — they’re offering trust. And that trust can be the catalyst for self-belief and lasting impact.”
Networking Breakfast: Building Culture & Capability in Uncertain Times is on Friday, 14 November, from 8 am to 10 am at Altura Albury. Tickets are $88pp via Albury Business Connect.
