The Challenges
Stress
Teams reported sustained high stress, emotional exhaustion, and poor recovery habitsTaboos
Mental health conversations were often seen as taboo or HR-only topicsTimidity
Managers lacked the confidence and language to check in with struggling team membersBurnout
High performers were burning out quietly, with presenteeism replacing productivityDepletion
Despite a strong corporate purpose, people were feeling personally depleted
Our Solution
Our goal was clear:
to create a mental health and wellbeing programme that was:Evidence-based
grounded in neuroscience and behavioural psychologyCulturally intelligent
able to connect with different mindsets and management stylesDeeply practical
with tools that could be used in high-pressure roles, not just ideal settingsSustainable
with manager enablement and leadership accountability at its core
Our Approch
We called the programme:
Thrive: Building Resilience and Wellbeing in a Demanding World
Over 9 months, we delivered this across business units in EMEA, APAC, and the Americas — reaching over 1,000 employees, team leaders, and directors.
The Impact: Healthier People, Stronger Business
Within six months of the programme roll-out, the client began reporting significant positive shifts:
- Employee engagement and psychological safety scores rose across pilot regions
- Managers reported a 56% increase in confidence to discuss wellbeing and mental health
- High performers began to model healthier boundaries, setting a cultural ripple effect
- Sick leave linked to stress-related illness decreased in participating teams
- The programme was expanded globally and embedded into the leadership development roadmap
More importantly, the programme helped reframe the narrative:
Wellbeing wasn’t just a personal issue. It was a leadership responsibility.
Contact Person
Steve Gore – Co-Founder, KOAP | Emotional Resilience Designer | Human Performance Partner
Steve Gore is the Co-Founder of KOAP and brings more than 40 years of experience in leadership, sales, and human development to his work with global organisations. A passionate advocate for emotionally intelligent workplaces, Steve has designed and delivered wellbeing, resilience, and performance programmes for clients in healthcare, life sciences, and pharma across the globe.
Steve blends science with storytelling, bringing together the latest research in neuroscience, emotional regulation, and workplace behaviour with his own real-world insight from decades of working in complex, high-stakes environments.
His mission is simple: help people take better care of themselves — and each other — so they can do great work, live well, and lead sustainably. Whether working with a team under pressure or a leadership group facing change, Steve brings empathy, humour, and a deeply practical approach to building wellbeing that lasts.
“I was first introduced to Steve when in a previous role. I was very confident to then introduce him to my current organisation, based on the capability and behavioural outcomes that were achieved – which has continued to be in evidence. Steve and the KOAP team are responsive, flexible both in approach and content and are able to drive real change from the Executive to the front line teams. This, combined with a genuine passion for customer service and innovation, means I know they will continue to make my role a whole lot easier! “
