BAT Modern Oral formed a brand new global team to deliver a high priority category under significant commercial pressure.
Inner Leader partnered with BAT to support the team to build trust, clarity and psychological safety as the foundations for strong performance.
Company Name
British American Tobacco (BAT) Modern Oral
Industry
Global FMCG
Services
Leadership Team Development
The Challenge
When BAT transitioned its Modern Oral category from the United States to Southampton, it brought together a completely new team of thirty four people from seventeen different countries. The technical capability was strong, but the group had never worked together before. Expectations varied, communication styles differed and cultural norms shaped how openly people were willing to speak.
“People were polite, but they were cautious,” says Chris Keller, who led the group. “You could feel people choosing their words carefully. The ideas were there, but the confidence to share them wasn’t.”
In some cultures, questioning a manager is expected. In others, it is avoided. With such a diverse mix, silence sometimes replaced the challenge and collaboration the work required. The team needed a shared way of communicating if they were going to perform at the level the category demanded.
Bringing the Team Together
Many leadership programmes feel theoretical, but this one didn’t. The sessions were practical, honest and highly interactive. DISC profiling gave the team a shared language for understanding each other, and the psychological safety work helped people speak openly without worrying about hierarchy. Communication and presentation activities encouraged leaders to break old habits and find clearer, more compelling ways of getting their message across. Personal brand work strengthened their confidence and helped them show up with more intention.
The tone of the experience made the biggest difference.
Inner Leader delivered two full days of development for the entire team. For many, it was the first time they had paused to talk honestly about how they worked rather than the technical tasks in front of them. The sessions were active and human, with space for people to speak, reflect and understand their behavioural styles through DISC. More importantly, the atmosphere encouraged openness. There was no hierarchy in the room. Everyone contributed.
Chris noticed the shift immediately.
“It was the first training where everyone felt equal. People relaxed. They showed more of who they really were.”
The work on psychological safety helped people voice thoughts they had been holding back. Team members began to understand how cultural backgrounds shaped each other’s approach to challenge, pace and decision making. They also learned how to adapt their communication so their ideas landed well with colleagues who thought differently.
What emerged was a group that not only understood each other better, but trusted each other more.
Impact at a Glance
How the Workshops Translated Into Real Work
The impact became clear as soon as the team returned to daily work. Meetings that had previously felt slow and tentative became livelier. People spoke earlier and with more confidence. Instead of waiting for a senior prompt, ideas emerged naturally and discussions developed momentum on their own.
Junior members began making suggestions that pushed the work forward. Senior colleagues listened with curiosity rather than defensiveness, which strengthened confidence across the team. Decisions became clearer because conversations were more honest. The group moved faster simply because they understood one another better.
Everyday moments revealed how the team had shifted. Chris recalls walking into the lab and seeing people stepping in to help colleagues who were overloaded, even when it was not their project. “Before, everyone stayed in their own lane. Afterwards, helping each other became instinctive.”
As trust deepened, the team became more independent. Meetings that once required Chris’s presence began running effectively without him. Work progressed because people understood the expectations and felt safe to lead their part of it.
Why It Mattered
This cultural shift became a foundation for the division’s remarkable performance. As communication improved, so did efficiency. Projects moved faster, friction reduced and people took ownership with far more confidence. The psychological safety created in the programme did not stay in the training room. It became a defining feature of how the team operated.
This environment was a major contributor to the division’s significant increase in project capacity. Modern Oral achieved more than two hundred and fifty percent growth over two years without increasing headcount. That level of output is only possible when people feel able to contribute fully and collaborate with genuine trust.
The team did not just become more productive. They became more connected, more confident and more willing to support one another.
Part of a Bigger Picture
The leadership programme was only one part of a wider transformation at Modern Oral. Inner Leader also delivered one-to-one coaching and leadership team development across the division at the same time, creating layers of support that strengthened confidence and capability at every level.
You can explore the rest of the story here:
One-to-One Coaching at BAT Modern Oral
Leadership Development at BAT Modern Oral
Full Case Study: How BAT Modern Oral Built a High-Performing Team That Runs Itself
