About Vintis
Helen Curtis, Founder
I support leaders to lead with compassion, clarity and purpose. Through compassionate leadership, self-compassion and Appreciative Inquiry, I help individuals and teams focus on strengths, build resilience and create sustainable change.
I provide facilitation, workshops and training that is practical and research-informed, grounded in lived experience of running a business and leading through pressure. I create space to reflect, offer tools that can be applied quickly, and support leaders to act with confidence and accountability.
I work in partnership with trusted experts to deliver thoughtful, well-structured sessions that strengthen performance, relationships and culture.
My Experience
I’m Helen Curtis, a business owner, partner marketing specialist and accredited leadership trainer with over 30 years’ experience in the tech and B2B marketing sector. I founded Coterie Marketing and the Coterie Community to build capability and connection across partner ecosystems.
After many years leading in high-pressure environments and running my own business, I became increasingly interested in how leaders sustain performance without burning out themselves or their teams. That experience now shapes my work. I am an accredited facilitator with the Centre for Compassionate Leadership (US) and a certified TAP trainer. I deliver the Leading with Compassion course at the University of Huddersfield and teach on the government’s Help to Grow: Management programme for SMEs.
After many years leading in high-pressure environments and running my own business, I became increasingly interested in how leaders sustain performance without burning out themselves or their teams. That experience now shapes my work.I am an accredited facilitator with the Centre for Compassionate Leadership (US) and a certified TAP trainer. I deliver the
Testimonials
“Equipped me to lead with compassion while remaining accountable.”
“Created space to reflect and connect with others facing similar challenges.”
“A must for leaders managing people in high-pressure environments.”
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.
Ready to take the next step?
Who Should Attend?
- Business and team leaders
- HR and people managers
- Educators and school leaders
- Purpose-driven professionals
Business Benefits
- +25% employee engagement
- -11% burnout
- +12% productivity
- +48% staff retention
- Stronger innovation and wellbeing across teams
Self-Compassion Workshop - become your own best friend
This in-person workshop offers a calm, supportive space to pause and step out of the pressure of everyday life. It is designed for women who spend much of their time looking after others and want to learn simple ways to be kinder to themselves.
Self-compassion is not about self-indulgence or getting everything right. It is about learning how to respond to stress, mistakes and difficult moments with steadiness and care. In this session you will be introduced to a few practical tools that can be used in real life — at work, at home, or during the in-between moments of a busy week.
In this workshop we will explore:
- How self-criticism shows up and how to respond differently
- A “compassionate friend” approach to everyday challenges
- Simple practices such as soothing touch, gentle self-talk and short reset pauses
- Ways to carry these tools into the week ahead
The session is guided and reflective, with no pressure to share personal experiences. You can take part in a way that feels comfortable for you. No previous experience of mindfulness or meditation is needed.
You will leave with:
- A clearer understanding of self-compassion in practice
- One or two tools you can use straight away
- Space to reset and refocus
- A sense of steadiness for the week ahead
This workshop is a practical wellbeing session. It is not therapy or clinical support, but a gentle, accessible introduction to self-compassion for everyday life.
Format: In person
Length: 3 hours
Who it’s for: Busy women looking for space to pause, reflect and reset
Cost: £55 (with a limited number of concession places available)
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.