Discover 5 essential strategies for maintaining and building trust within your team during times of disruption, uncertainty, and organizational change.
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Influential Woman · Leadership Development and AI Training
Sara Riedel
Leadership Growth Community Builder and Founder, KALA Leadership Collective
Windermere, FL 34786
1Article published
4Awards received
Her Story
About Sara
Sara Riedel is a leadership strategist, AI training consultant, and founder of KALA Leadership Collective, where she helps organizations bridge the gap between AI tools and real-world AI adoption.
With a background in education and more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Sara combines leadership development with practical AI implementation to help professionals modernize how they work and lead.
Her signature BUILD Method — focused on leadership fundamentals, AI upskilling, integration, applied learning, and measurable outcomes — has supported leaders across more than 20 organizations, from individual contributors to executive-level teams.
Through workshops, consulting, and her growing online community, she emphasizes that AI is not simply a technology shift, but a transformation in how organizations build capability and scale performance.
Before launching her business, Sara spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including leadership and learning-development roles with Takeda and earlier sales and training positions with AstraZeneca.
During her tenure at Takeda, she helped create a mentoring program through the company’s Women’s Employee Resource Group, an initiative that was later featured in the organization’s global oncology newsletter.
Although being laid off in late 2023 marked a major turning point in her career, Sara transformed the experience into an opportunity to combine her lifelong passion for teaching with her self-taught expertise in artificial intelligence.
Drawing on her educational background and postgraduate studies in curriculum and planning, she developed hands-on leadership programs designed around how adults learn best: through dialogue, real-time practice, collaboration, and application.
Today, Sara leads a remote team that develops monthly leadership courses and facilitates weekly live sessions through an interactive online community platform.
https://theklc.ai/keystone-leadership/2026
Known for her thoughtful and human-centered perspective on AI leadership,
she writes extensively about career growth, organizational culture, AI adoption, and navigating change in the modern workplace.
A graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Secondary Education and Spanish, Sara believes the future of leadership will depend not only on technology, but on stronger relationships, emotional intelligence, trust, and community.
Her work reflects a commitment to helping leaders adapt confidently to rapid change while maintaining human connection at the center of meaningful leadership.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sara
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to rejection.
Being rejected for many roles, both internally at my organization and externally,
really forced me to look inward and see how I was showing up and what I could learn from it.
Obviously it makes you call yourself into question and shakes your confidence,
but that repeated rejection gave me the courage I needed to start my own company and bet on myself.
At the end of the day, I decided to bet on myself.
And there is this fear of starting out on your own after you've been in the corporate world for many, many years.
I was the single breadwinner of my household at the time, and it was terrifying, but I did it anyway.
It was repeated rejection that gave me the courage to start the journey on my own.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You are in control of your career advancement.
If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will wait forever.
Make your own opportunities.
Advocate for yourself.
Ask for help.
The strongest leaders are the first to say they don't have all the answers.
And above all else, commit to being a lifelong learner.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Prioritize human connection.
Personal connections open doors that credentials cannot.
They build trust.
They make people willing to share their real problems.
They turn ideas into reality.
Don't be afraid to talk to people.
Start conversations.
Face-to-face.
Or just pick up the phone.
Here's the second part:
If you want to make an impact, solve real problems.
Not the problems you think exist.
The ones people actually lose sleep over.
Get curious and ask questions.
Listen for deep understanding.
Validate the problem.
Understanding the emotional impact behind problems is how you build solutions people actually want.
That's how you lead with impact that matters.
Relationships get you in the room.
Expertise earns your place.
Trust closes the deal.
Building meaningful connections brings you back next time.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge and opportunity are both AI.
AI is so new and people and organizations are figuring it out.
There aren't many benchmarks for what good looks like,
and there's not a lot of step-by-step how-to guidance,
which is where I excel.
Because of the hands-on nature of my AI for Leaders courses,
I walk you through how to use in real in hands on exercises that save people time.
There's a big push right now for people to learn how to integrate AI into their daily workflows, and that's where I come in.
The biggest challenge in the market is that people don't know what they don't know.
Even just a basic level prompt, which probably may not get you a great result, feels amazing because it's such a jump.
So newer AI users who are experimenting at a beginner level just don't realize how much better it could be.
I think that's true in organizations as well.
About 92% of Fortune 500s have rolled out AI tools, but only 35% have a reskilling strategy.
The amount of training required for people and organizations to adopt AI at scale is usually grossly underestimated.
It's a skill that has to be developed over time, not in a single workshop.
The opportunity and challenge is having companies recognize that it's a combination of individual users learning to use it, but also providing the support and structure (engineered prompts and workflows, training, governance) to make them successful.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I have though a lot about this because I created a values exercise that I lead people through.
For me, my two core values are respect and fairness.
Respect encompasses so many different aspects.
Acknowledging others talents.
Listening without judgment.
Empathy.
And so much more.
Ultimately, I care more if you respect me than if you like me, and that's always held true throughout my whole life.
My second value is fairness.
I think we all want a fair shot, we all want to be treated fairly, we all want to be given a fair chance.
Fair does not mean equal, but it's about opportunity.
When respect and fairness are in place, integrity, authenticity, and kindness follow naturally.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Sara
✨ 5 Quick Tips for Building Trust During Disruption
How Leaders Can Strengthen Team Confidence During Times of Change and Uncertainty
5 Quick Tips for Building Trust During Disruption
Periods of disruption can quickly erode trust within teams. When communication feels unclear and uncertainty increases, employees often look to leadership for stability, transparency, and direction. The way leaders respond during these moments can either strengthen trust or create more confusion and resistance. Here are 5 quick tips for building trust during disruption:
Communicate Consistently and Transparently
You might not always have something new to share, and that’s okay. Let people know what is happening (or not happening) so they are not left guessing. Consistent communication helps people feel informed and connected, even when there is nothing new to report.
Listen to Concerns Without Becoming Defensive
Sometimes people just want to be heard. Not every concern requires an immediate solution. Pause, ask questions, and listen for understanding. Acknowledge how people feel without becoming defensive or rushing to fix everything.
Address Rumors Quickly and Directly
Rumors spread quickly during periods of disruption, especially when information feels limited or unclear. Ignoring them often allows confusion and mistrust to grow beneath the surface. Address misinformation directly when possible, clarify what is true and what is not, and communicate honestly about what is still unknown.
Be Proactive in Addressing Resistance
Resistance is normal during change. Delaying conversations often allows frustration and tension to grow into larger problems. Create opportunities for open communication and remind people of the reason behind the change. When people understand the “why,” they are often more willing to move forward.
Consistency Builds Trust
Trust is built through consistent behavior over time. During disruption, people look for stability in the leaders around them. When you communicate consistently, respond predictably, and follow through on your actions, you become a source of steadiness during uncertain times.
The Why
During times of uncertainty and change, people may be unsure about their roles, seeking clarity, or still processing what is happening around them. Adjustment takes time, and in many cases, it can take months for people to fully settle into a new environment, team structure, or way of working.
This is why trust matters so much during disruption.
When trust is strong, people are more willing to communicate openly, adapt to change, and move forward together. Trust creates stability and helps people feel supported, even when everything around them is shifting.
Building trust requires more than communication alone. It comes from consistently reinforcing the four directions of the Trust Compass:
- North: Non-negotiables (values and integrity)
- East: Emotional intelligence
- South: Standards, accountability, consistency
- West: Wisdom, experience, and judgment
People pay attention to how leaders show up during difficult moments. When leaders communicate clearly, listen thoughtfully, and lead with integrity, they create an environment of stability through change.
Leader’s Edge: Practical AI for Everyday Leadership
How to Use AI to Address Rumors
Rumors often spread when communication feels limited or unclear. Many leaders avoid addressing them because they do not want to validate the rumor, but ignoring it can add fuel to the fire.
AI can be used as a thought partner to help you think through where a rumor may be coming from and how to address it strategically while maintaining trust and professionalism.
AI Prompt:
“A rumor is circulating within my team during a period of change. Help me think through:
- Where this rumor may be originating from
- Whether it should be addressed directly or indirectly
- Strategies for responding professionally while maintaining trust and credibility
Here is the situation: [insert details].”
Trust is built through consistent leadership behaviors over time. During disruption, the leaders who communicate clearly, listen thoughtfully, and show up consistently will help teams move forward with greater confidence and stability.
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