Enchanting the World with Chocolate through Constructive Leadership
For more than 180 years, Lindt & Sprüngli Australia has embodied craftsmanship, creativity, and passion — a company dedicated to enchanting the world with chocolate. In 2020, Lindt Australia began a journey to take its culture from good to great, recognising that sustaining excellence meant strengthening leadership capability and constructive behaviours.
The Challenge
While Lindt’s culture was positive, it wasn’t consistently high-performing. Engagement scores had plateaued, and feedback highlighted opportunities to improve collaboration, recognition, and open communication.
“We were a great organisation, but not always consistently great,” said People & Culture Manager, Robyn Rodrigues. “We needed a shared language for what great leadership looked like.”
The Approach
With strong executive sponsorship, Lindt partnered with Human Synergistics to introduce the Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI), starting with the executive team before cascading through all levels of leadership.
“When the executive team models constructive behaviour, change cascades faster,” said Human Resources Director, Freda Behrens.
The LSI helped leaders understand how their thinking and behaviour shaped outcomes — prompting self-awareness and genuine mindset shifts.
To embed this, Lindt introduced:
Delegation Tree – empowering decision-making and accountability.
Leadership Mastery Programme – a year-long learning and feedback journey aligned with LSI.
Mastery of Chocolate Awards – recognising leaders who live Lindt’s five core values.
The Impact
Since 2020, Lindt has guided over 278 team members through the LSI journey, promoted 73 leaders, and achieved a 6% uplift in Key Growth Objectives. Collaboration and psychological safety have improved, and teams feel more connected and empowered.
“The LSI gave us the courage to have honest conversations,” advises Robyn. “We’ve shifted from managing to leading.”
The Future
Lindt continues to evolve through the Organisational Culture Inventory® (OCI), aligning leadership behaviour with business values. For Lindt, leadership is now part of the magic — a vital ingredient in enchanting the world with chocolate.
Watch Freda Behrens, Human Resources Director & Robyn Rodrigues People & Culture Manager, Lindt & Sprüngli Australia at our 27th Culture & Leadership Conference below.
Download PDF Presentation here.