South West Water’s Wastewater Services Leadership Team operated in a high-pressure, highly regulated environment, responding rapidly to protect customers and the natural environment. Despite strong individual performance, siloed working, low confidence, unresolved conflict and inconsistent decision-making were undermining collaboration, accountability, engagement and environmental compliance. 

Arup designed and delivered a two-year, evidence-based emotional intelligence (EI) development programme for the leadership team, combining diagnostics, coaching and practical norm-setting. 

Using Goleman’s EI and Druskat’s Team EI frameworks, we built individual EI skills then embedded team habits such as check-ins, clearer handovers, action tracking and structured decision logs. We tracked progress, adapted through team changes, and helped sustain new behaviours. These frameworks place the onus on leaders to recognise their own feelings and their teams’ emotions, guiding actions and relationships that lead to better decisions in complex situations.

South West Water’s Wastewater Services Leadership Team is responsible for operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction. Working under pressure on a network serving millions of customers, this team must act quickly to prevent sewage leaks and protect the environment during extreme weather. 

By improving emotional intelligence and team norms, the programme strengthened trust, accountability and decision-making, driving measurable outcomes: engagement rose from 26% to 86%, pollution incidents fell 68%, and operational improvements delivered over £4m savings.

We make better, faster decisions. Our key decisions log has led to financial savings of hundreds of thousands, and a new role has been created to replicate this success in the wider business. Engagement has risen significantly too, from 26% to 86% across 240 people in six months. This work has delivered genuine, organisation-wide value.

David Swiggs

Director, South West Water