What future leaders need: trust with autonomy
Supply Chain Week Sydney 2026 | 20 August 2026 | ICC Sydney
Meaningful work, connection with a team and space to make decisions were central to my closing reflection at Supply Chain Week Sydney 2026.
Video: 37 seconds.
What do I mean by ‘trust with autonomy’?
I mean giving people enough space to decide for themselves. In the panel, I connected this with people's desire for meaningful work and a team they feel good being part of.
How does this connect with developing future leaders?
My closing point was about the environment in which people develop. Alongside opportunities to build skills, I emphasised meaning, connection and room to make decisions. These are the conditions I wanted leaders to consider.
A question to take into your week
What does trust with autonomy look like in your team today?
Video transcript
People want to have meaning, they want to be part of the greatest thing. They want to be with people - a great team where they feel good, because we spend so much time at work. And this is all science proven as well, because I love science - it's not just the gut feeling I have or experience. What's also important is trust with autonomy: giving people enough space to decide for themselves. So that's where I see the future leaders.
My LinkedIn reflection
Published 11 September 2026. Original post wording; the official event name is Supply Chain Week Sydney 2026.
Trust with autonomy. Three words I keep coming back to since the Supply Chain Channel Week Sydney panel, and the clip closest to why I coach. Third and last clip from the panel.
Panel: "Building the Supply Chain Workforce of the Future", Supply Chain Channel Week Sydney 2026, 20 August, ICC Sydney.
People want to feel that their work means something. They want to be part of something bigger than the shift. They want a team where they can say the difficult thing without paying for it.
The research behind that is not a gut feeling. Psychological safety and self-determination theory have been telling operations leaders the same thing for years: give people meaning, connection and enough space to decide for themselves, and they stay, they learn and they hold the line when things go wrong.
I call it trust with autonomy. Supply chains are run by people, not just systems. This is where the future of our workforce sits.
What does trust with autonomy look like on your site?
#SupplyChainChannel #SupplyChainLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #Leadership #PeopleNotSystems
Reflection by Alexandra Riha. Recorded at Supply Chain Week Sydney 2026, ICC Sydney, 20 August 2026. Panel: “Building the supply chain workforce of the future”.
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