Zen & Go Our Signature Program · 8-Week Programme

Emotional Intelligence in Action

An 8-week programme that gives corporate teams the tools to recognise, understand, and navigate emotions at work. Grounded in science. Built for practice.

8 weeks 60 min per session Up to 20 participants Online or in-person EN and DE 30+ DAX companies and SMEs
Sophie and Angelique
The business case

A healthy relationship with emotions is one of the most underestimated assets in professional life.

In a fast-moving world where technological and social change is constant, strong emotional skills matter more than ever, both for individual wellbeing and collective performance.

Modern research shows that alongside IQ, emotional intelligence is a decisive factor in performance. When emotions are underestimated or ignored, employee engagement drops, burnout increases, turnover rises, and creativity stagnates.

The future of work depends on the ability to express and navigate emotions in healthy ways, creating thriving cultures built on collaboration, creativity, and wellbeing.

50%

Innovation, respect, and satisfaction are up to 50% higher, and frustration, anger, and stress 30 to 40% lower, when leadership is emotionally intelligent.

Brackett, M.A. (2019): Permission to Feel.

Sophie and Angelique in conversation
Sophie and Angelique presenting to a full room
Live delivery, Personalmanagement Kongress Conference 2023
What changes

Four outcomes of emotional intelligence at work.

More empathic collaboration

An empathic environment built on respect and appreciation helps team members contribute fully, support each other, and stay open to new ideas.

Greater creativity and innovation

Innovation thrives on psychological safety. Teams with strong emotional skills feel confident bringing new ideas and discussing them openly.

Better decision-making

A healthy relationship with your own emotions helps set clearer priorities, reduce procrastination, and make decisions with greater clarity.

Increased resilience

Greater emotional intelligence allows people to be more agile in difficult conversations and to develop a sense of clarity and calm under pressure.

Two people in conversation
Organisation-wide

The programme shapes culture, not just individuals.

Emotionally intelligent organisations benefit at every level, from individual contributors to leadership teams to customer relationships.

Cote, S. (2014) Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.

Higher employee engagement and wellbeing
Better customer care and client relationships
Diverse and inclusive organisational culture
Agile and resilient organisation
The PIN Method™

Three core elements of Emotional Intelligence in Action.

The programme is built around the PIN Framework™, Zen & Go's proprietary method for developing emotional competence in professional contexts.

P

Perceive

Mindful attention to what is happening inside: noticing body sensations, thought patterns, and emotional signals without immediately reacting. The foundation of interoception and self-awareness.

I

Investigate

Understanding how emotions shape actions, decisions, relationships, and thinking. Recognising stress reactions and personal patterns. Building the knowledge to work with emotions rather than against them.

N

Navigate

Acting with clarity: making conscious choices aligned with personal values, team wellbeing, and the good of the organisation. The place where insight becomes action.

The 8-week journey

A structured progression, not a one-off workshop.

Session 1 and Session 8 are 90 minutes each. Sessions 2 to 7 are 60 minutes. Available in English and German. Up to 20 participants.

Swipe to see all 8 modules →

01
Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence

The foundations of EI, interoception, and the 90-Second Rule. Practical tools: body scan, mindful awareness.

02
Emotions 101

What emotions are, where they come from, and why they matter. Primary emotions through Ekman and Plutchik.

03
Functions and Types of Emotions

How emotions serve us: their protective, emotional, and social functions. Emotion types and the Orloff framework.

04
Naming Emotions

Developing emotional granularity: the difference between "stressed" and what is actually present. The Wheel of Feelings.

05
Strengths and Shadows of Emotions

The Feeling Compass by Dittmar. Every emotion carries both gifts and shadows, and learning to work with both.

06
Healthy Emotion Navigation

Practical emotion regulation tools: the RAIN method, healthy expression, and working with difficult emotional states.

07
Vulnerability and Communication

The vulnerability spectrum and Undeniable Speaking: authentic emotional communication that builds trust rather than breaking it.

08
Empathy and Safe Spaces

Empathic listening, creating psychological safety, team check-ins, and the Balcony Moment as a leadership practice.

How Emotions Are Made
What you get

What sets this programme apart.

01

Weekly email with one-pager

After each session, participants receive a follow-up email with a one-pager for integration. Key learnings, a reflection exercise, and one tool to use between sessions. By the end of the programme, participants have a complete personal knowledge collection.

02

High-interaction live sessions

Sessions go well beyond presentation. Breakout rooms, guided exercises, group reflections, and team practices. Participants do the work together, not just watch it. Open-office sessions are available for deeper questions.

03

Aesthetic companion materials

Beautifully designed blueprints, templates, and tools participants actually want to keep. The Wheel of Feelings, the Feeling Compass, team check-in cards, the RAIN method, mindful listening guides, and more.

One-pager example: Module 3 Participant using the Wheel of Feelings
04

1:1 email support

Participants can write to Sophie directly throughout the programme, Monday to Friday. Questions between sessions, reflections that come up during the week, or simply wanting to go deeper: the door stays open.

The cost of doing nothing

So, what if we don't invest in emotional intelligence?

01Sick leave rises.

Stress that isn't named or processed accumulates. Burnout follows. The cost of one long-term absence typically exceeds the cost of a full programme.

02Conflicts go underground.

Without shared language for difficult emotions, teams avoid hard conversations. Problems don't disappear; they resurface as disengagement, passive resistance, and attrition.

03Your best people leave.

High performers leave managers, not companies. Emotional intelligence deficits at the leadership level are a primary driver of voluntary turnover among top talent.

04Leadership credibility erodes.

Teams watch how leaders handle pressure. Reactive behaviour, poor listening, and emotional unavailability signal to teams that their wellbeing is not a priority.

05Goals get reached. Bridges get burnt.

Purely rational, task-focused teams can deliver results, but often at the cost of trust. Relationships quietly fracture. Culture erodes. And people stop bringing their full selves to work, even if they never leave.

Formats and investment

Two formats. One methodology.

Option 2 · In-person

2-Day On-Site Intensive

  • Two full days of training at your location
  • Resource library with templates and companion materials
  • Customised discussion questions for individuals and groups
  • Group size up to 20 participants
  • Tools for emotional team check-ins
  • Available in English and German
Price on request
Per group, plus travel costs
Book a discovery call
Pilot results

What the data shows.

The programme was piloted at Siemens Healthineers. Results are from participant feedback collected at the close of the full 8-week cohort.

57–100 NPS range across EIA cohorts at Siemens Healthineers since 2023
17/18 Participants who said they would recommend the programme to a colleague
30+ DAX companies and SMEs have worked with Zen & Go since 2019. Programme has been running since 2023.
Sophie on stage presenting Emotional Equilibrium
In their words

What participants say.

"Thanks to the course, I got to know myself better and was able to practice tools that continue to help me deal with difficult situations at work. I notice that my skills and performance improve as a result."
"Thank you for the wonderful Emotional Intelligence programme and the journey it took us on over eight weeks. Even when the sessions were demanding and intense, you always created a warmly safe space. I am taking away many impulses for both my professional and personal life. Because whatever we do: our emotions are always there, both a curse and a gift."
"Emotional intelligence is a topic on which I also took other courses, but in this case the experience has been very tangible, personal, pragmatic and enlightening. Today, I pay more conscious attention to my feelings, to my own energy and its effects on my mental and physical well-being."
Who leads the programme

The team.

Each cohort is led by Sophie Bachmann and co-facilitated by one of our certified programme trainers.

Sophie Bachmann
Sophie Bachmann
Founder, Zen & Go · Lead Trainer

Sophie founded Zen & Go in 2019 and has since worked with over 30 DAX companies and SMEs across the DACH region, USA, and APAC. She brings over 500 hours of workshop experience in mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and stress management for corporate teams.

Her approach is grounded in science and built for practice: tools participants actually use, not theory they leave behind. The PIN Method™ is her proprietary framework for inner-world development in professional contexts.

MSc Psychological Medicine 500+ workshop hours Certified mindfulness teacher Certified yoga teacher
Angelique Heyder
Co-facilitator
Angelique Heyder
Learning Design & Co-Facilitation

Six years of innovation consulting at Fortune 500 companies in New York. Certified embodiment coach. Creates spaces for authentic growth and brings depth of facilitation experience to the group processes and somatic dimensions of emotional intelligence work.

Dela Dilling
Co-facilitator
Dela Dilling
Somatics & Emotional Intelligence

Yoga and meditation teacher, clinical hypnotherapist, and women's circle facilitator with nearly 10 years of practice. Creates spaces that move people from head into body, from tension into presence. Integrates somatic awareness, Reiki, and ritual.

Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Can the programme be customised for our team?
The programme is deliberately built to deliver proven results without heavy customisation. What we establish in the assessment call is a deep understanding of your team and its dynamics. Within that, we can shift emphasis across modules. The structure stays because it works.
We only have 60 minutes per session. Is that enough?
Yes, and it's intentional. 60 minutes fits into a working week without becoming a burden, and it's focused enough for real learning. Each session has one clear topic, one guided exercise, and one reflection. Participants who want to go deeper have weekly 1:1 email support throughout the programme.
What if someone misses a session?
Every session is accompanied by a one-pager sent by email, so anyone who can't attend stays connected to the content. We recommend a maximum of two missed sessions for full impact.
Do participants need prior experience with mindfulness or emotional work?
No. The programme works equally well for people encountering these topics for the first time and for those who already have a foundation and want to go deeper.
How much does this require from us as an organisation?
Very little. You provide the participants and a weekly calendar slot. We handle everything else: preparation, materials, facilitation, follow-up, and email support. After the assessment call, you don't need to coordinate with us again until the closing session.
Sophie Bachmann

Ready to bring this to your team?

Discovery calls are 30 minutes with Sophie. A direct conversation about your team, what they are facing, and whether this programme is the right fit.

Book a discovery call Or write to: contact@zen-and-go.de