Case Studies

Client Profile

South West Water, part of the Pennon Group, is a leading UK water services provider, delivering clean and wastewater services to homes and businesses across the South West of England. With a strong regional presence and a commitment to sustainability, South West Water plays a vital role in both community wellbeing and environmental stewardship. The organisation employs a diverse workforce and recognises that strong, values-driven leadership is essential to delivering exceptional service and maintaining trust with customers and stakeholders alike.

Challenge

As the business continued to operate in a rapidly changing regulatory and environmental landscape, South West Water identified the need to invest in the leadership capability of its management population. Many managers had grown within the business and brought a wealth of operational expertise, but there was a clear opportunity to enhance their people leadership skills to align with the organisation’s values and future vision.

The challenge was to deliver a scalable, in-person management development programme for over 300 managers across a wide geographic area in the South West. The programme needed to be practical, engaging, and consistent, while helping managers lead with authenticity, give and receive effective feedback, manage performance confidently, and embed values-driven leadership behaviours.

Solution

Rostrup designed and delivered a bespoke management development programme and rolled it out to 300 managers, in person, across multiple South West locations. The one day programme was structured around four core leadership themes:

• Authenticity – Helping managers understand their own leadership style and lead with integrity
• Values-Driven Leadership – Aligning day-to-day behaviours with South West Water’s core values and long-term purpose
• Performance Management – Equipping managers to set clear expectations, hold people accountable, and support development
• Effective Feedback – Building skills to hold honest, constructive conversations that promote growth

The programme was highly interactive, using real-life scenarios, peer discussion, and reflection exercises to embed learning and build leadership confidence.

Outcome

The programme created a step change in leadership approach across the organisation. Managers reported feeling more confident in their ability to manage performance, lead conversations with empathy, and model the organisation’s values. The shared language and tools introduced by the programme strengthened leadership consistency and helped foster a more cohesive, accountable, and values-aligned culture across South West Water. It also reinforced the company’s commitment to investing in its people—laying a strong foundation for future leadership growth.