Developing High-Performing Team Leads at DRS

Introduction

To support its continued growth, DRS set out to strengthen its management pipeline by preparing future team leads with not just legal expertise, but the people skills needed to lead teams, motivate others, and manage performance across sites.

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Given the business’s fast-paced environment and high client demand, leaders needed practical, efficient development that worked in the real world,  without pulling them away from critical client work.

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Insight

Perform was introduced to upskill future and newly promoted team leads, helping them build confidence in people management before stepping into leadership, and supporting them long after promotion.

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The platform provided clear, actionable learning and a behavioural framework that gave teams a shared language, particularly valuable for managing across different sites where face-to-face interaction was limited. It helped leaders adapt their style, improve communication, and manage more effectively day to day.

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Importantly, the accountability built into Perform played a key role in maintaining follow-through. In a high-volume workload environment, the nudges, check-ins, and coaching support helped ensure that leadership development remained active, not forgotten.

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Outcome

Since embedding Perform, DRS has seen a clear uplift in leadership readiness and confidence across its team leads, many of whom have gone on to take on expanded management responsibilities. Teams report improved communication, greater cohesion, and stronger cross-site collaboration.

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The business has seen improved productivity and continued external recognition, including listings in national 'Best Place to Work' awards, driven in part by its investment in developing leaders who are not just technically excellent, but capable, confident people managers.