Building inclusive leadership and team effectiveness at Heineken

Business Need

When Heineken needed a psychometric method with diversity and inclusion written into its very DNA, it chose Lumina Learning.

During her seventeen years at Heineken, Pamela Dale had tried a number of psychometric tools. While they each served a purpose, none fully aligned with Heineken's evolving culture and values.

As the organisation continued strengthening its focus on inclusion and diversity, the team recognised the opportunity to introduce a model that reflected those priorities more authentically.

In 2019, Pamela began exploring alternative approaches and was introduced to Lumina Learning and Lumina Spark. What immediately stood out was the alignment between Lumina Learning’s philosophy and Heineken’s own culture and ambitions.

Both organisations shared a strong belief in human connection, valuing difference, building self-awareness, and helping people unlock their potential. Lumina Spark’s flexible and humanistic framework gave Heineken a way to support development while embracing individuality and diversity across teams.

The ability to explore personality through different contexts using Lumina Spark’s Three Personas also resonated strongly with the organisation’s people-first approach.

Lumina Learning Solution

The journey with Lumina Spark began in 2018. Pamela and her team took what she described as an “incubator brand” approach. Rather than formally launching a new personality assessment across the organisation, they allowed engagement to grow organically through experience and conversation. 

Pamela assembled a team of 15 Lumina Spark Practitioners and initially introduced Lumina Spark within the marketing and digital and technology departments, both of which were keen to participate in personality development initiatives.

The rollout began with two introductory workshops. The first introduced participants to the Lumina Spark model and guided them through their Spark Portraits. The second focused on strengthening rapport and improving collaboration within teams.

As adoption grew, Lumina Spark supported a wide range of development areas across the organisation, including:

• Leadership development
• Team effectiveness
• Communication and feedback
• Emotional intelligence
• Inclusion and diversity
• Managing stress and pressure
• Conflict management
• Coaching and mentoring
• Psychological safety
• Change management
• Performance management
• Onboarding and induction

When Covid struck, Heineken  adapted quickly as Lumina Learning’s tools could be delivered virtually. To support employees and managers during this period, Pamela and her team created dedicated Lumina Learning toolkits for colleagues, people managers, and practitioners, bringing together webinars, workshops, and self-development resources in one place. 

As hybrid and face-to-face working returned, Lumina Spark continued supporting development across virtual, hybrid, and in-person environments. 

Embedding Lumina Spark across the business

Over time, Lumina Spark became embedded into development activity across Heineken.

New starters now receive a Lumina Spark Portrait as part of their onboarding experience and are invited to attend introductory sessions designed to help them understand the Lumina Spark framework, the Four Colour Archetypes, and their Spark Portraits.

Pamela’s team also introduced webinars and development modules for colleagues and people managers covering topics such as:

• Managing stress and pressure
• Communication and feedback
• Building trust and rapport
• Team development
• Conflict management
• Inclusive leadership
• Effective collaboration

Managers worked closely with the Organisational Capability team to identify development priorities and create tailored team development plans aligned to their specific needs.

During the pandemic, demand increased for support around pressure and stress management. In response, Pamela designed bespoke team development sessions focused on helping teams manage pressure and strengthen ways of working during challenging periods.

Supporting inclusion and belonging

One major initiative was the launch of the “9 HEINEKEN Inclusive Practices”, designed to support people managers in developing more inclusive behaviours. Themes included:

• Communicate inclusively
• Develop self-awareness
• Seek multiple points of view
• Give and receive feedback
• Find common ground with others

Alongside this, the “Inclusive Vitamins” campaign encouraged employees to engage with e-learning modules exploring each inclusive practice in more detail.

By 2021, more than 1,500 leaders had completed the Inclusive Leadership programme, with workshops continuing across 2022 and 2023.

Results

Lumina Spark has become Heineken's psychometric of choice and continues to play a central role in development across the organisation. 

The approach has supported:

• Greater self-awareness
• Stronger team dynamics
• Improved collaboration
• Inclusion and diversity initiatives
• Leadership development
• Employee onboarding and engagement
• Managing pressure and resilience
• Communication and rapport-building

The Spark Portraits and accompanying smart data help employees better understand how their personality influences behaviour, communication, and workplace relationships. This deeper self-awareness supports both personal development and career growth.

Lumina Spark’s adaptability has also allowed HEINEKEN UK to embed development into multiple areas of the employee experience, from onboarding through to leadership and team effectiveness.

Today, Lumina Spark sits firmly within the fabric of HEINEKEN UK’s culture, supporting the organisation’s continued focus on inclusion, connection, and helping people perform at their best.