Personal Development & Self-Management

Because how you lead yourself is how you lead everything else.

Unlocking Human Potential from the Inside Out

In high-pressure, high-performance industries like medical diagnostics, employees and leaders are often expected to manage rapid change, complex communication, and growing expectations — all while maintaining emotional control, clarity, and composure.

But technical expertise doesn’t guarantee emotional resilience.

That’s why KOAP partnered with a global medical testing company to design and deliver a transformational programme in Personal Development and Self-Management, focused on building emotional intelligence across their workforce and leadership population.

The challenge was clear: employees were feeling overwhelmed, leaders were operating under constant stress, and collaboration was breaking down under the weight of complexity. What was missing wasn’t capability — it was self-awareness, emotional agility, and the ability to lead from within.

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The Business Challenge: Emotionally Underdeveloped, Operationally Overloaded

Following years of global expansion and organisational change, our client — one of the world’s leading medical testing organisations — noticed growing concerns across the business:

The organisation recognised that if they wanted to improve performance, engagement, and collaboration — they had to start with the individual.

  • Leaders struggling

    Leaders were struggling to manage their own stress and emotional regulation
  • Team schizms

    Cross-functional teams were increasingly reactive, avoidant, or passive-aggressive
  • Unsafe

    A culture of high performance had inadvertently eroded psychological safety
  • Burnout

    Burnout rates were creeping upwards, especially among emerging leaders and lab managers
  • Lack of infrastructure

    There was little infrastructure or language around emotional intelligence and self-leadership
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The KOAP Approach: Emotional Intelligence as a Business Tool

Our mission was to design a development journey that would move emotional intelligence from a “nice-to-have” soft skill to a practical, measurable business capability — one that people could see, feel, and apply in their daily work.

We launched a tiered development experience titled:
Leading Self: Building Emotional Intelligence for Real-World Impact

Delivered to over 500 participants across leadership, technical, and clinical teams, the programme focused on the foundational principle:

“Before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself — your emotions, your energy, and your reactions.”

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Why KOAP’s Approach to Personal Development Works

This is personal growth that transforms performance — from the inside out.
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Business competency

We treat emotional intelligence as a business-critical competency, not a personality trait
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Practical tools

We provide practical tools, not abstract theory — everything is designed to be used, not just understood
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Sustainable change

We focus on sustainable behavioural change through experiential learning and reflection
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Deep expertise

Our facilitators bring deep expertise in neuroscience, psychology, and business performance
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Completely relatable

And we meet people where they are — with no jargon, no judgement, and total relatability
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Ready to Transform?

Join us on the journey to transforming your organisation. Discover how KOAP can help your team thrive in today’s ever-changing world.

Insights

    Staying positive in 2021 (1)

    Staying Positive in 2021

    As we enter a new year it may seem difficult to view the future in a positive frame of mind, especially given the current UK lockdowns and increasing rates of the global
    Img 2776

    2022 – the year of being “kind” to yourself!

    “As we enter another year of uncertainty and confusion, it’s time to reflect on how we feel and how well we have been looking after ourselves.” So, just how has the pandemic
    Curated lifestyle sh9yxmi1lro unsplash (1)

    Back into lock-down, are you an “embracer”?

    As the UK goes back into a national lock-down, I thought it worthwhile reviewing what we have learnt from our experiences of working from home, and especially how, as leaders,  we can
    Image (3)

    Unleash Your Inner Relaxation Beast: Self-Care, Holidays, and the Art of Not Giving a Stress!

    As the summer holiday season approaches, and I pack my bags for not another business trip but for a well-earned two week break with no laptop and no phone… (so be warned those

Insights

    Staying positive in 2021 (1)

    Staying Positive in 2021

    As we enter a new year it may seem difficult to view the future in a positive frame of mind, especially given the current UK lockdowns and increasing rates of the global
    Img 2776

    2022 – the year of being “kind” to yourself!

    “As we enter another year of uncertainty and confusion, it’s time to reflect on how we feel and how well we have been looking after ourselves.” So, just how has the pandemic
    Curated lifestyle sh9yxmi1lro unsplash (1)

    Back into lock-down, are you an “embracer”?

    As the UK goes back into a national lock-down, I thought it worthwhile reviewing what we have learnt from our experiences of working from home, and especially how, as leaders,  we can
    Image (3)

    Unleash Your Inner Relaxation Beast: Self-Care, Holidays, and the Art of Not Giving a Stress!

    As the summer holiday season approaches, and I pack my bags for not another business trip but for a well-earned two week break with no laptop and no phone… (so be warned those

Our Coaches

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Steve Gore
KOAP Co-Director & Leadership Strategist
Stephen Gore is a globally respected leadership consultant and Co-Founder of KOAP. With over 40 years of
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Trevor Dias
Consultant & Performance Coach, KOAP
Trevor Dias is a highly experienced consultant and certified coach, bringing over two decades of commercial leadership,
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Ania Jakielaszek
Leadership Consultant & Inclusion Specialist, KOAP
Ania Jakielaszek is a seasoned leadership consultant and inclusion strategist at KOAP, bringing over a decade of
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David Levine
Leadership Consultant & Executive Coach, KOAP
David Levine is a highly respected leadership consultant and executive coach at KOAP, bringing over 30 years
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Mandy Schuster
Facilitator & Development Coach, KOAP
Mandy Schuster is a multilingual facilitator and development coach at KOAP, known for her dynamic approach to
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What People Say About Us

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“Steve Gore and the team at KOAP have been critical partners in the development and success of our people and our business.

They have worked with AstraZeneca since 2009 and with our Finance teams since 2018.  The team at KOAP have all the qualities you expect in a great partner including strategic thinking, innovation, integrity and commitment.  Working together with the client they create powerful programmes that explore concepts, supported by research, that are highly relevant to the challenges and opportunities facing today’s business leaders. 

Steve is a master facilitator whose strong connection with participants encourages them to think differently resulting in a unique learning experience that is both high quality AND high value.”

Geoff brockway alumni
Tporthodontics

“Koap has played an intrinsic role in the development of our senior leadership team, European sales team and customer service support personnel for well over 10 years. From interactive,  fun workshops to one to one coaching they not only facilitated our approach to operating effectively as individuals and as a team but also gave us the skills and direction to execute our company and personal goals. We look forward to many more years in this great partnership between TP Orthodontics Europe and Koap.”

“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! “

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“I would certainly recommend the services of KOAP, and especially Steve and James, if you’re looking for a trusted partner in your quest to unlock and elevate the full “people” potential of your team and/or organisation. I have been working with KOAP for four years, and I have never been let down. Each programme/training is built from the ground up, on the basis of your requirements, and is made real as it is always connected to your normative business life and operations. KOAP’s methodology makes, therefore, any learning they deliver actionable and relevant.”

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“Really helped me to learn, and to go out and apply what I learned in the real world.”

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“Helped me to become a better leader, but most important –  helped me to guide my team much better.”

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“I encourage every manager to participate in these valuable leadership programs.”

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“I tell you that this is one of the best programs I’ve been a part of…”

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Ready to Transform?

Join us on the journey to transforming your organisation. Discover how KOAP can help your team thrive in today’s ever-changing world.