A self-check in 10 questions
The Space Between
Something lands: a comment in a meeting, an email, a look. A moment later you respond. Often that response is not what you would choose in a calm moment, and it can lead to misunderstandings or to a conflict nobody wanted. This self-check looks at what happens in you in between, and helps you shape that space with more calm and awareness.
What changes when you notice the moment in between
Between what lands and how you respond, there is a moment. Most of the time it passes unnoticed and the reaction runs on its own. Once you notice it, you can respond differently. That choice is freedom.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom.”
What this looks like in everyday work
As an employee
Your idea gets passed over in the meeting, and ten minutes later a colleague says almost the same thing. If you notice the moment in between, you first feel the annoyance in your body, can name it (overlooked, not seen) and then decide: ask, bring it up later or let it go on purpose, instead of staying silent or hitting back. It spares you the evening of replaying the meeting in your head.
As a leader
Someone on your team disagrees with you in front of everyone. If you take a short moment (one breath, one look at your own reaction), you can say “Tell me more about what you see” instead of defending yourself. That teaches your team that disagreement is safe here. Amy Edmondson calls this psychological safety, and it is what gets problems onto the table early.
Source: Edmondson, Administrative Science Quarterly (1999)
In the team and the culture
In 2019 WeWork was valued at 47 billion dollars. A few months later the founder had stepped down as CEO and the IPO was called off. What was said or left unsaid in those rooms is not known from the outside. We can still ask: would it have helped if saying no and giving feedback upwards had been normal? Microsoft shows the other picture: from 2014 Satya Nadella wanted to move the culture from knowing it all to continuing to learn.
Sources: CNBC, TechCrunch (2019); Nadella, Hit Refresh (2017)
In all three cases a lot is decided in the space between: how we respond to disagreement, mistakes and pressure, as individuals and as a team.
What you get
Your result, right away
As soon as you have answered, you see where you stand and where your potential lies, as a leader or as someone who leads themselves. A written reflection on your situation arrives by email within minutes.
A personal note from Sophie
If you tick the box at the end, Sophie Bachmann reads your answers personally and sends you, within the next week, ideas to make your (self-)leadership more effective and calmer. It is free for you, and normally something like this costs around 500 euros.
Who reads your answers
Sophie Bachmann is the founder of Zen & Go and works as an expert in emotional intelligence and mindfulness. She holds an MSc in Psychological Medicine and is a certified mindfulness, meditation and yoga teacher with more than 800 hours of training. As Global Marketing Manager at Siemens Healthineers she grew a mindfulness initiative from 15 to 900 people in 18 months. Since 2019, more than 30 DAX companies and SMEs have worked with her programme.
How do we bring emotional intelligence into action?
By practising three steps, again and again, in real moments. Together they are the PIN Method, and they are what the eight-week programme Emotional Intelligence in Action is built on.
Perceive
You notice what is happening in you while it happens: the tight shoulders, the shift in mood, the first flicker of a reaction.
Investigate
You understand what sits underneath: what the feeling points to, and which story you are adding to the facts.
Navigate
You choose a response and act on it, towards yourself and towards the people around you.