Nestlé Case Study: Leadership Team Development Across 4 Programmes in 18 Months
How Nestlé Singapore’s leaders built trust for a new chapter, then took it to the sales team
Team programmes for the leadership team, channel sales heads and the retail sales force
In 2025, as Nestlé Singapore’s leadership team entered a new chapter with ambitious goals, it chose leadership team development to build trust and move faster together. We started with a team assessment and confidential interviews, then ran two workshops on clarity, collaboration and commitment. The same tools then went to channel sales heads and the full retail sales team: 4 programmes in 18 months, rated 5.0 out of 5 by the leadership team.
Nestlé Case Study: Leadership Team Development Across 4 Programmes in 18 Months
How Nestlé Singapore’s leaders built trust for a new chapter, then took it to the sales team
Team programmes for the leadership team, channel sales heads and the retail sales force
In 2025, as Nestlé Singapore’s leadership team entered a new chapter with ambitious goals, it chose leadership team development to build trust and move faster together. We started with a team assessment and confidential interviews, then ran two workshops on clarity, collaboration and commitment. The same tools then went to channel sales heads and the full retail sales team: 4 programmes in 18 months, rated 5.0 out of 5 by the leadership team.
- Client
- Nestlé Singapore and Nestlé Lanka
- Industry
- Food and beverage, FMCG
- Where
- Singapore, Sri Lanka
- Who
- Singapore leadership team, channel sales heads, full retail sales team, Sri Lanka managers and leadership cohort
- Period
- 2020 to 2026
Very powerful workshop that reminds us to be more human at work.Leadership team member, Nestlé Singapore, 2025
A new chapter and ambitious goals
Nestlé is one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. In 2025, Nestlé Singapore’s leadership team began a new chapter with ambitious commercial goals. It already worked well together, and wanted to go further.
Shared goals
Leaders wanted to align quickly around ambitious commercial goals.
Strong working relationships
Leaders wanted to build strong working relationships across the team, fast.
Open conversations
Leaders wanted conversations to stay open and genuine as the team grew.
A sales team ready to grow
Channel heads wanted to build on their strengths: adapt quickly, negotiate with confidence and collaborate across functions.
Measure first, then design
Every programme started with measurement. The work grew from the leadership team to the front line.
Measure
A team assessment, work-style profiles and confidential interviews with each leader.
Design
Each workshop was built around what the data showed, not a generic syllabus.
Extend
The same language of trust, courage and mindset went from leaders to the sales team.
| When | Where | Team | What we delivered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Sri Lanka (virtual) | 120+ Nestlé Lanka managers | Virtual resilience sessions |
| 2021 | Sri Lanka (virtual) | 32-person leadership cohort | Emotionally Intelligent Leader and Leading Teams through Change, part of a 6-month line manager programme. Open webinars for all staff on emotional intelligence and building an agile mind. |
| Mar 2025 | Singapore | Leadership team (13 leaders) | Building Leadership Excellence, Phase 1 “Stronger Together as One Leadership Team”: 2-day workshop |
| 2025 | Singapore | Channel sales heads | Thriving with Customers and Transform and Thrive workshops |
| Nov 2025 | Singapore | Leadership team | Building Leadership Excellence, Phase 2 “High Performance Team”: 2-day workshop |
| Jul 2026 | Singapore | Retail sales team (about 30 people) | Transform and Thrive: 2-day programme, 8 follow-up newsletters, workbooks, 21-day virtual reconnect |
An honest conversation, not a generic offsite
A new chapter and ambitious goals. The team wanted open, honest conversations, so we designed two phases around its own data.
- Measure: all 13 leaders rated the team on 15 statements across clarity, collaboration and commitment. The results showed clear strengths and shaped the focus of each phase.
- Phase 1, clarity and collaboration: expectations of each other and of the team’s leader, psychological safety, and structured clearing conversations held 1-to-1 in the room on real topics.
- Phase 2, commitment: eight months later, trust feedback between leaders, high-performance behaviours and problem-solving as a team.
One leader described Phase 1 as creating “a pivotal moment for the team to step-up performance and joy in their work.”
How Nestlé used Measure, Build, Sustain
Nestlé Singapore used all three steps. Pick the one that matches your own challenge.
Measure
A baseline of how the leadership team rated its own clarity, collaboration and commitment, plus confidential interviews.
Build
Trust, psychological safety and clearing conversations inside the leadership team.
Accountability, feedback and high-performance habits for leaders.
Helping sales teams and managers lead through change with courage and a growth mindset.
Reaching large groups of managers and staff with practical tools.
Sustain
Keeping new habits going after the workshop: 8 newsletters, workbooks and a virtual reconnect after 21 days.
From one leadership team to the front line
The team came back
The leadership team returned for Phase 2 in November 2025, eight months after Phase 1.
Leaders took it to their teams
The work extended to channel sales heads in 2025 and the full retail sales team in 2026.
Top ratings
5.0 out of 5 from the leadership team and 4.67 out of 5 from the sales team workshop.
Business outcomes
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Growth in Singapore | From one leadership team programme (March 2025) to 4 programmes across leadership and sales in 18 months |
| Phase 2 | The leadership team came back for Phase 2 in November 2025 |
| From leaders to the front line | The leadership team’s work extended to channel sales heads (2025) and the full retail sales team (2026) |
| Participant rating | 5.0 out of 5 for overall experience, leadership team Phase 1 and 2 (3 responses). 4.67 out of 5, sales team workshop 2025 (3 responses). |
| Relationship | Nestlé markets in Sri Lanka (2020 to 2021) and Singapore (2025 to 2026) |
What Nestlé leaders and sales teams said
Manish has the ability to engage different level of stakeholders, able to understand our situation and having the ability to relate and bringing us to communicate openly and thus elevating the level of trust.Leadership team member, Nestlé Singapore, Phase 2, 2025
He allowed people to open up and reflect well. His tone and style were spot on, engaging, thoughtful, and encouraging real action. He has a wonderful way of making us think and see things differently.Sales team member, Nestlé Singapore, 2025
Thought provoking, rejuvenating, highly recommended for professionals of all levels.Sales team member, Nestlé Singapore, 2025
Manish has decades of corporate experience which he uses to understand, not to teach.Leadership team member, Nestlé Singapore, 2025
Three design choices
We measured the team before we met it
The assessment and interviews showed where to focus. That shaped every hour of Phase 1.
We gave conversations a clear structure
Leaders learned a clear structure for clearing conversations, then practised it 1-to-1 in the room on live issues.
We moved in phases, from leaders to the front line
Phase 1 built trust. Phase 2 built accountability. Then the sales team got the same language, so leaders and teams work from one playbook.
A strong team with ambitious goals?
The next level of performance often comes from more open conversations. Nestlé Singapore’s experience shows three things you can expect.
A clear read on your team
Know whether your biggest opportunity is clarity, collaboration or commitment before you spend a day offsite.
Honest conversations with structure
Leaders learn to work through differences directly with each other.
A path to the front line
The tools that work for your leaders can scale to your sales and operations teams.
Measure your leadership team before your next offsite
Nestlé Singapore’s progress began with data, not a workshop. Run a free Resilience Assessment for up to 5 people in your leadership team. You get a team profile across 50 evidence-based factors and a debrief on your team’s strengths and where to focus first, so your offsite is built around real conversations.
Request your free leadership team assessmentA growing team or a sales force to bring along? Talk to us about a phased programme: peiying.sim@resiliencei.com.sg
Frequently asked questions
How do you help a leadership team entering a new chapter?
What is a clearing conversation?
Can the same programme work for sales teams?
Do you run programmes virtually?
Programme details and scores are drawn from The Resilience Institute’s programme records, the Nestlé Singapore team assessment (February 2025) and participant feedback, 2020 to 2026. Individual responses are confidential and not disclosed. Company context is drawn from Nestlé’s public reporting.