We ran a global psychological safety survey for AB InBev. The data was evaluated against their anonymised leadership model performance data. Our psychological safety model identified the organisation’s global strength and challenge against the five business pillars of psychological safety: innovation, learning, inclusivity, honesty, and value.
A global roadmap and regional roadmaps were developed using the insights. We delivered a global, virtual training to senior leadership, which they then cascaded to their teams at the regional level. The C-Suite engaged in a customized training, and management committees in the zones adopted recommended practices from the program. A toolkit provided snackable content for teams and individuals across the organisation.
Psychological Safety Program at AB InBev
Psychological safety creates an environment where people can speak up candidly with ideas, questions, concerns, and even mistakes (Edmondson, 2020). It supports a learning culture to drive innovation, and through enablement it can drive stronger team performance at all organizational levels. Psychological safety is a key part of any business ethics agenda.
AB InBev approached us to assess psychological safety across their global organization, and to equip them with a roadmap and initiatives that supported their learning culture.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a multinational drink and brewing conglomerate headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.
Formed in 2008 through the merger of Belgian brewing company InBev with US-based Anheuser-Busch, AB InBev currently accounts for around 30% of global beer sales volume, operating more than 600 beer brands in 150 countries.
With a strong history of global M&A, AB InBev acquired British multinational competitor SABMiller in 2015 to become one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world. The three core values of Dream, People, Culture run through each of its subsidiaries and bring together 175,000 employees globally.
Our client, AB InBev, wanted to unlock performance across the company using the concept of psychological safety. The program had 2 goals:
1. Measure psychological safety across the organization, with breakdowns for region, seniority level, and function
2. Deliver actionable recommendations to support psychological safety across the organization
Participant, Psychological Safety Training Session
Leveraging data to create customized initiatives
Continuing the change into 2022
The psychological safety program delivered a foundation for driving awareness and change across the organization. As a next step, we are providing customized training and advice for particular regions, and organization-wide content to continue to drive a learning culture at AB InBev.
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