Beyond hierarchy: How trust, culture and networks are redefining leadership 

albedis, Acceleris & Great Place to Work® Switzerland hosted a breakfast briefing – and struck a chord 

Zurich. Coffee, croissants, business cards – what at first glance appeared to be a typical early-morning gathering of professionals evolved, on 10 July 2025, into a space for unexpectedly profound dialogue. The Breakfast Briefing – HR Edition, initiated by albedis, brought together HR Directors, CHROs and senior decision-makers from a range of national and international companies with two forward-thinking guest speakers. What unfolded was not just an exchange of data and frameworks, but the emergence of a fundamentally different perspective on leadership, culture and transformation. Somewhere between psychological safety, hybrid complexity and systems thinking, a room opened up in which the future was not prescribed – but co-created. 

Culture as capital: Insights from the European Workforce Study 2025 

The event began with Tobias Véron, Co-Owner and Consultant at Great Place to Work® Switzerland, who presented the latest findings from the European Workforce Study – one of the continent’s most comprehensive surveys on workplace culture. Over 20,000 employees from 19 countries were surveyed, regardless of industry, role or employer. The insights were as nuanced as they were urgent: 

• Switzerland ranks among the top five countries in Europe for job satisfaction, alongside Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Austria. 

• However, only 59% of employees report experiencing psychological safety – a key risk factor when it comes to innovation, engagement and emotional commitment. 

• Leaders tend to consistently overestimate the strength of their relationships with employees, while many team members feel unheard or left out of decision-making. 

One of the most striking findings was the growing disconnect around hybrid work: while many employees seek flexibility and trust in shaping their work routines, a large number of companies continue to enforce traditional on-site expectations – often misaligned with today’s cultural reality. 

“This is where outdated control logic collides with a new understanding of work,” Véron summarised. “If we want to build lasting bonds, we need to listen more – and understand leadership as a relational practice.” 

Sharon Olivier: When leadership becomes a movement 

The conceptual counterpoint to the data-driven analysis came from Sharon Olivier, leadership expert, researcher and guest speaker invited by Acceleris – a Geneva-based international consultancy and part of the Interiman Group. Acceleris specialises in the design and facilitation of accelerated learning and development solutions for individuals, teams, and organisations. As an internationally active consultancy based in Switzerland, Acceleris supports companies in rethinking leadership, with a strong focus on cultural transformation and organisational evolution. 

In her keynote, Olivier called for a radical shift in how we think about leadership. Rather than viewing organisations through the lens of authority and decision chains, she urged leaders to understand them as dynamic, adaptive systems, shaped by relationships, mutual perception and shared orientation. 

Three leadership Intelligences for complex organisational systems 

Olivier identified three essential leadership capacities for navigating this complexity: 

1. Intuitive Intelligence 
   The ability to anticipate developments and sense when to act – or question – even when data is incomplete. 

2. Eco-Intelligence 
   The skill of integrating different perspectives, holding space for dialogue, and managing – rather than avoiding – tension. 

3. Ego-Intelligence 
   Not in the narcissistic sense, but as the ability to provide structure, clarity and direction without resorting to control. 

“Effective leadership doesn’t stem from formal authority,” Olivier explained, “but from social resonance. It emerges in places where people offer trust – not because they have to, but because they choose to.” 

When change starts from within 

Olivier backed her conceptual approach with real-world examples of organisations that are rethinking transformation from within. 

One example came from a large Swiss insurer that deliberately identified informal trust leaders: employees known to be authentic, credible and influential, regardless of their role or title. These so-called “sparks” were activated to co-drive cultural change – not as traditional change agents, but as credible relationship builders within everyday structures. 

Another example involved a globally operating company in the beauty industry, headquartered in French-speaking Switzerland and shaped by historically hierarchical norms. Here, a company-wide program was launched to foster cultural simplicity and proximity: flattening internal language, increasing individual accountability and distributing decision-making authority. The result was a measurable rise in psychological safety – visible in stronger feedback culture, greater innovation readiness and higher employee retention. 

A resonance space for forward-looking HR-leaders 

The Breakfast Briefing was more than a conventional networking event. It became a space of resonance, where participants shared their own leadership and HR challenges: navigating generational shifts, balancing agility with structure, rethinking reward systems, or exploring performance beyond traditional KPIs. 

The post-event feedback revealed a strong appetite for more formats of this kind. Among the most frequently asked questions: 

• “What specific levers do I have as an HR leader to decentralise leadership?” 

• “How can I foster real dialogue between top executives and young talent?” 

• “What does trust mean in the context of goal setting, accountability and performance measurement?” 

Many attendees expressed interest in deeper exchange – whether through follow-up formats, regional think tanks or cross-functional innovation circles. 

albedis: Executive & Professional Search with strategic depth 

With this event, albedis demonstrated that executive & professional search can go far beyond recruitment. It’s about cultural alignment, leadership readiness and systemic thinking. As part of Interiman Group, albedis is increasingly positioning itself as a driver of strategic dialogue in Switzerland’s HR landscape. 

“The leadership challenges we face today cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them,” said host Luis Granato, Managing Director of albedis. “That’s why we design spaces for new questions, beyond roles, routines and reporting lines.” 

Outlook: Leadership as a collective process 

The first Breakfast Briefing at Schützengasse was not just an event. It was a beginning. A beginning for more eye-level dialogue, for systems thinking in HR, and for a new understanding of leadership grounded in trust, participation and cultural maturity. 

Those who want to be part of the conversation are warmly invited. 

Contact: 
Want to be informed about upcoming events? 
Contact the albedis team via albedis.ch or email zurich@albedis.ch