Lead. Grow. Thrive
Compassionate leadership, in practice
Lead. Grow. Thrive
Compassionate leadership, in practice
What we do
Background
Testimonials
Background
Vintis is led by Helen Curtis, a facilitator and leadership practitioner with over 30 years' experience across corporate roles, marketing leadership and business ownership. Including a decade leading her own marketing agency.
Helen now takes her own experiences to focus on compassionate leadership and self-compassion. Helping leaders combi
Vintis is led by Helen Curtis, a facilitator and leadership practitioner with over 30 years' experience across corporate roles, marketing leadership and business ownership. Including a decade leading her own marketing agency.
Helen now takes her own experiences to focus on compassionate leadership and self-compassion. Helping leaders combine clarity, accountability and humanity while building healthier, more sustainable working cultures.
Accredited teacher with the US Center for Compassionate Leadership and collaborates with the University of Huddersfield.
Approach
Testimonials
Background
We create space for reflection, honest conversation and practical action.
Through facilitated sessions, programmes and workshops, we help people:
- Lead with clarity rather than reactivity
- Set boundaries and sustain energy
- Improve team relationships
- Build trust and accountability
- Navigate change with steadiness
Testimonials
Testimonials
Testimonials
"The course was really inspiring, and I feel I learned so much about Compassionate Leadership from other sectors who attended the course.
More importantly, I will always be inspired by the innovation of how we translate Compassion into the everyday behaviours of our people – whether at work or in our personal lives."
Penny Wade, Director of Finance & Resources, The Kirkwood
Our Partners
Leading with compassion certified course
This course is based on the Center for Compassionate Leadership (US) programme and adapted for UK workplaces. Designed for leaders and influencers across education, business, and the public sector.
Key Components
1. Self-Development
· Emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and self-compassion
2. Practical Tools Frameworks from Awakening Compassion at Work by Worline & Dutton:
· Roles, routines, networks, and culture
3. Leadership in Action
· Integrate compassion into recruitment, onboarding, and performance
4. Community Building
· Join an alumni network for peer learning and support
Course Leaders
The course will be co-delivered by Helen Curtis and Dr Nicola Stenberg an experienced academic and practitioner, a Chartered Psychologist, with over 25 years experience of training and development across multiple sectors. Nicola brings deep expertise in facilitation, compassionate leadership, and applied research, making her a valued co-deliverer of this programme.
Certification
Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate in Compassionate Leadership, subject to attendance and post-course reflection.
Self-Compassion Mentoring - 8 week programme
This online 1:1 mentoring programme offers a calm, structured space to step back from the pressure of everyday leadership and decision-making. Grounded in self-compassion research (drawing on Kristin Neff's work), mindfulness practice, and over 30 years in business leadership and marketing.
Self-compassion isn't about self-indulgence or getting everything right. It's about learning to respond to stress, mistakes and difficult moments with steadiness and care and bringing that same steadiness into how you lead, grow a business, or navigate change. Over eight weeks, we'll work through practical tools alongside the real challenges in front of you, so the two build together rather than staying separate.
Who it's for
Leaders, managers and business owners who carry a lot for other people (teams, clients, businesses) and want space to lead with more clarity and less self-criticism, without losing the steadiness that lets them keep going.
How the eight weeks unfold
- Starting point — where you are now, and how self-criticism shows up in your leadership and decisions
- The compassionate friend approach — applying it to a real challenge you're facing right now
- Soothing practices — gentle self-talk, short reset pauses, and simple tools for the in-between moments of a busy week
- Steadiness under pressure — staying grounded through difficult conversations, decisions or setbacks
- Boundaries and energy — what you're carrying that isn't yours to carry
- Applying it to growth — working through a live business or marketing challenge with both threads in the room
- Building the habit — carrying these tools into your normal working week, not just the session
- Review and forward plan — what's shifted, what to keep, and where you're headed next
Each session includes a short guided mindfulness practice and building gently across the eight weeks, from a brief breathing space early on to longer, more embodied practices as the weeks progress. No previous experience of mindfulness or meditation is needed.
What you'll leave with
- A clearer understanding of self-compassion in practice, and how it applies to how you lead
- A small toolkit of mindfulness and self-compassion practices you can use straight away
- Real movement on a genuine business or leadership challenge
- A steadier relationship with pressure, decisions and your own limits
This programme is practical mentoring and wellbeing support. It is not therapy or clinical support.
Format: Online, 1:1, weekly · 8 sessions, 45–60 mins each ·
Who it's for: leaders and business owners wanting space to pause, reflect and grow with more steadiness
Appreciative Inquiry Leadership Workshops
Half day workshop:
These half-day workshops use the principles of Appreciative Inquiry and compassionate leadership to help teams explore challenges through a strengths-based lens. Rather than focusing on what’s broken, we create space to identify what’s working and what’s possible.
What to expect:
- Discover: Teams are invited to pause and reflect on their individual and collective strengths. We suspend problem-solving to focus on what’s already working well – the energy, relationships, and achievements that can be built upon.
- Dream: Through guided discussion, we explore what a thriving team or organisation could look like. This creates space for aspiration, creativity, and shared vision.
- Design: We begin shaping practical steps to bring that vision to life – aligning around ways of working, behaviours, and systems that support it.
- Destiny: We close with commitment and momentum – identifying next actions and personal ownership for change.
Why it works:
- It centres people, not problems.
- It encourages compassionate leadership through listening, reflection, and courage.
- It aligns teams around shared values and a positive future.
- It’s grounded in research and proven to support sustainable change.
This approach is particularly helpful during times of transition, low morale, or when a reset in team dynamics is needed.
