HR Brilliance Awards 2026 | HR Consultancy of the Year | Gold Award: Go Slow to Go Fast

About the Brilliance Awards Winner

In this edition of Behind the Brilliance, we feature Go Slow to Go Fast, the Gold Award recipient for HR Consultancy of the Year. Based in the UK, this leadership and organisational change studio has redefined performance by challenging the traditional “faster, harder, more” mindset that often leads to burnout and misalignment.

Founded by Nick Wright, the studio’s methodology is built on the belief that intentional pauses allow teams to reconnect and realign, ultimately enabling them to execute with greater autonomy and speed. Their approach integrates research-backed micro-pauses: short, intentional moments that interrupt “autopilot” and allow leaders to choose better responses to complex challenges.

By blending psychology, systems thinking, and evidence-based learning, Go Slow to Go Fast moves beyond one-off interventions to form deep partnerships with its clients. Whether through their seven-month Futures programme with Immediate Media or their focus on double-loop learning, the studio ensures that new habits are built from within the organisation to create sustainable, high-performing cultures.

“When teams are aligned and people feel safe to contribute, they can move with more autonomy, make better decisions, and execute faster with less rework.”

Interview with Nick Wright, Founder of Go Slow to Go Fast

Congratulations on winning the Brilliance Award for HR Consultancy of the Year at the HR Brilliance Awards. Can you share a brief overview of Go Slow to Go Fast and the philosophy behind your approach to leadership and organisational change?

Go Slow to Go Fast is a leadership and organisational change studio. Our name is our methodology: we help leaders pause with intention so teams can reconnect, realign and build healthier ways of working. When teams are aligned, and people feel safe to contribute, they can move with more autonomy, make better decisions, and execute faster with less rework.

Your “Go Slow to Go Fast” methodology challenges traditional ways of driving performance. What inspired this approach, and why is it so relevant in today’s workplaces?

We have seen how “faster, harder, more” often creates the opposite of performance: confusion, churn, burnout, and decisions that get reversed. Our approach is inspired by research on decision-making and high-performing teams, and by what we have learned with clients. In a world of constant change and AI-enabled work, the ability to pause, sense what is happening, and reset together is a real competitive advantage.

Micro-pauses sit at the heart of your work. How do these small moments create meaningful change for leaders and teams?

Micro-pauses are short, intentional moments to stop autopilot. They can be in the moment or built into routines like check-ins and reviews. They create change because they help people notice what matters, name misalignment early, and choose a better response. Over time, those small resets compound into stronger collaboration, higher resilience, and better well-being.

You work in close partnership with clients rather than delivering one-off interventions. How does this collaborative approach shape long-term impact?

Partnership helps us understand the real context: the industry, the pace of change, and the human dynamics underneath the work. We co-design, stay close through regular check-ins, and adapt as the system evolves. That means capability is built inside the organisation, and new habits are more likely to stick.

The Futures programme with Immediate Media is a strong example of your work. What made this initiative successful, and what impact did it have on emerging leaders?

Futures worked because it was a genuine partnership and a long-term journey. Over seven months, we stayed close to sponsors and participants, iterating through weekly touchpoints, workshops, peer learning, and coaching support. Emerging leaders had time to build real habits, learn from each other, and grow confidence in how they lead, not just what they deliver.

Your work blends research, psychology, systems thinking, and real-world practice. How important is evidence-based learning in achieving sustainable change?

It is essential. Our work is grounded in how adults actually learn: experience, reflection, sense-making, and reapplication. We draw on experiential learning cycles and double-loop learning so teams can challenge assumptions, not just optimise behaviours. Evidence-based design keeps interventions simple, repeatable, and focused on what genuinely shifts outcomes.

Measuring impact can be challenging in leadership and culture work. How do you track success and behavioural change across your programmes?

We track impact through a mix of measures. Quantitatively, we use NPS and pulse feedback to understand value and momentum. Qualitatively, we run interviews and sponsor check-ins to spot behavioural shifts. Practically, we look for fewer blockers, clearer decisions, stronger meeting habits, and teams hitting outcomes with better energy and less burnout risk.

Client relationships and retention are clearly a strength of your consultancy. What do you believe keeps organisations coming back to work with you over time?

Trust and quality. We take time to understand the system we are working in and we do not treat learning as a one-off event. Clients come back because we stay accountable to outcomes, bring practical tools that leaders keep using, and we will go beyond the brief when it protects the long-term result.

Winning this Brilliance Award is a significant achievement. What does this recognition mean for Go Slow to Go Fast, and how does it reflect the work of your team and partners?

It means a lot. It validates the craft, care, and rigour our team brings, and it reflects the partnership with clients and collaborators who commit to doing the work properly. We are proud of the recognition, and it reinforces our commitment to building healthier, more effective ways of working at scale.

Finally, what does “brilliance” mean to you at Go Slow to Go Fast, and how does this award reflect your commitment to creating healthier, more effective ways of working?

For us, brilliance is a quality with humanity. It is doing work that helps people perform without sacrificing well-being, and building the kind of conditions where learning and ownership become normal. This award reflects that commitment: we focus on the how, so the what lands cleanly and lasts.

Celebrating Brilliance

The work of Go Slow to Go Fast highlights a critical competitive advantage in the modern workplace: the ability to sense, reset, and align amidst constant change. By focusing on the “how” of collaboration, the studio ensures that the “what” of business delivery lands cleanly and endures without sacrificing human well-being.

Through Behind the Brilliance, we continue to highlight the work behind award-winning organisations, offering a closer look at the thinking and discipline that lead to results that hold.

About the International Brilliance Awards™

Founded in 2014, the International Brilliance Awards™ recognise work defined by clear thinking, strong execution, and meaningful business impact across organisations worldwide.

The International Brilliance Awards™ serve as the flagship programme of the Brilliance Awards family, which includes Business Brilliance Awards, HR Brilliance Awards, Internal Communications (IC) Brilliance Awards, Marketing & PR Brilliance Awards, Sales & Revenue Brilliance Awards, and Sustainability & ESG Brilliance Awards.

Each programme focuses on a distinct area of organisational performance, while maintaining a consistent standard of evaluation through an independent, blind judging process.

Through initiatives such as Behind the Brilliance, the awards also offer a closer look at the work behind the results, highlighting the thinking and discipline that define award-winning organisations.