Building20 Where people work together
We work with leadership teams who want progress without burnout, and performance that survives uncertainty, complexity, and change.
Many leadership teams are struggling. But not because they lack talent, commitment, or intelligence.
More often, they’re struggling because the system they’re working in rewards speed, certainty, and individual expertise while the work itself increasingly demands collaboration, collective sense‑making, and judgement under uncertainty.
When leadership is treated as something a few individuals must carry, it’s easy to resort to control processes and illusions of certainty, and to find your organisation drifting away from aligned purpose, performance and innovation.
Building20 helps leadership teams perform in complexity by addressing the psychological and systemic causes of misalignment. Rather than creating standout individuals who struggle to work together, we develop leadership as a team capability – making performance more resilient, humane, and sustainable in a volatile world.
What we help teams do
Through workshops, consultancy, and coaching, we help leadership teams:
- Clarify what they are really here to do
- Surface and shift unhelpful patterns of thinking and interaction
- Make better decisions together under real‑world constraints
- Build ways of working that are humane, effective, and sustainable
Our work turns insight into action, without oversimplifying the reality teams are dealing with.
How we work
Our approach is shaped by a small set of principles that guide both what we do and how we do it.
We work inclusively, believing every person has a valid contribution and taking intentional steps to remove barriers to participation.
We work compassionately and kindly, willing to stay with difficult problems without rushing to premature solutions.
We work intelligently and creatively, bringing behavioural science and systems thinking into practical conversations that lead somewhere useful.
And we focus on effectiveness — helping teams change how work actually gets done.
Who is this for?
We typically work with:
- Executive and senior leadership teams with real decision‑making authority
- Values‑led organisations who want performance and humanity
- Leaders who sense that something deeper than skills or structures is limiting progress
- Teams operating in complex, fast‑changing environments where simple fixes no longer work
Many of our clients are already doing a great deal right — and know that lasting progress requires attention to how the system really functions.
Who it’s not for
We’re unlikely to be the right fit if you’re looking for:
- A quick fix or off‑the‑shelf programme
Individual “high‑potential” development without attention to the wider system - Performance gains that rely on people working harder or absorbing more strain
- A consultancy to tell you what to do rather than work with you to understand what’s happening
Our work requires time, attention, and a willingness to engage with complexity — and is most effective when that commitment exists across the leadership team.
About
Building20 is a leadership and organisational development practice that supports teams to think clearly and act well in complex conditions.
The practice is led by Dr Amanda Woolley, an organisational psychologist with deep experience working across boundaries in complex public and purpose‑led systems. Our work blends psychological insight with systems awareness to develop leadership as a shared capability — not a burden carried by a few individuals.
We work deliberately and at human scale, sometimes in collaboration with trusted associates, to help teams build alignment, judgement, and sustainable performance in the work that matters most.
If this reflects your experience, a conversation is usually the most useful next step. We’ll explore what’s happening in your context and whether working together would be genuinely helpful.