Summer School
Mentor Program
“Mastering others is strength. Mastering oneself is true power.” – Lao Tzu
‘A quest of any kind is a heroic journey. It is a rite of passage that carries you to an inner place of silence and majesty and encourages you to live life more courageously and genuinely’ Denise Linn
A Rite of Passage
There’s a particular kind of threshold that comes right after graduation, or at the start of a first job. The moment the structure of the life you knew falls away and nothing has quite replaced it yet. You know more than you did. You’re still not sure who you are with it. If you are at the start of your career or in your first job, this is the program for you.
Four weeks, once a week, online, in August, this is a compressed version of the same journey as my six-week Mentor Program: Root, Heart, Horizon. We build ground first, then turn inward to meet what’s actually there, then practice carrying it back out into the world you’re about to step into. By September, you’ll feel calmer, clearer, and know how you want to move forward on purpose.
Deeper Invitations
In four weeks, you won’t master this completely.But you’ll get a real taste of what it means to turn inward before turning outward, to meet a trigger instead of being swept by it, to speak from a grounded place instead of a reactive one.
That taste is enough to change how you walk into whatever comes next. Ultimately, we are building a life in which we find freedom in who we are.
Deeper Invitations
In the program is designed around invitations to guide you into presence. To bring focus internally first; we learn to practice holding attention in the moment. Our minds become silent, and we start feeling what is really going on for us. Then we will move towards discussing what is going on for us with others. This course will help you understand what goes on in your body, mind and emotions as well as give you a framework to deal with what comes up and share this with others. It helps us respond versus react to things going on in our lives.
Ultimately, we are building a life in which we find freedom in who we are.
Program topics
Week 1 Presence and Intuition
Thursday, 13 August
Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Grounding, mindfulness, and quieting enough to notice what’s actually here. Self-compassion, non-judgment, and beginning to name what matters to you.
Week 2 Know Thyself
Wednesday, 19 August
Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Week 3 Finding your voice
Thursday, 27 August
Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Foundational compassionate dialogue. Practicing new ways of showing up with others, in a safe container. Learning to express yourself in a new way.
Week 4 Integration
Thursday, 3 September
Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Carrying the learning into your next job, a next room, a next conversation. Relational awareness, cultural and personal sensitivity. Staying resourced.
Program topics
Part 1: Learning to become present & aware of your intentions
Practices of (self) compassion, non -judgment, aligning with your values, intentions, deep listening.
Part 2: Learning to recognize triggers & different ways to express ourselves in a way that serves the whole
Topics: ‘Know thyself’ – Recognizing how emotional triggers manage us, learning where they come from and skillfully respond.
Part 3: Learning how to find your voice in interactions with others
Topics: Foundational compassionate dialogue principles. Practicing new behaviours in a safe container.
Part 4: Integrating the learnings into our life
“When you drop from your Head into your Heart, Life becomes clear and purposeful”
Barbara Piper
Course Description & Weekly Session Format
Starting Wednesday August 13, we meet as a group for two hours a week, for four weeks, for two hours.
The same shape as the Mentor Program, held at a different pace.
Time: 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Calculate your time zone here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
Working in a safe space
Each session moves between plenary time and smaller break-out conversation, so you’re both held by the group and given room to go deeper individually. Some sessions include a facilitated discussion on what’s coming up for you as you try the practice on in real life.
Materials and Assignments
You’ll receive the materials, research, and exercises from every session to continue the practice at home, and you’ll be matched with a buddy in the group to walk the four weeks with.
What’s included?
- Four weeks of consistent practice, one live 2-hour session a week
- At least one hour a week with your buddy
- A group that becomes a genuinely safe place to be known
- A one-on-one session with me, at the midpoint of the program
Meet your Instructor
Barbara Piper supports young professionals just stepping into the world of work as well as senior leaders reshaping how they lead through the same passage, at different points in the journey.
Her background spans international communication management in the corporate sector and general management in healthcare, followed by years designing and delivering leadership programs, including as Senior Faculty at THNK, School for Leadership, and as compassion ambassador for Stanford University’s CCARE. She holds an MA in Communication and is a Stanford-trained certified Compassion Facilitator.
Living and working abroad gave her a natural ease across cultures and generations — useful, since this program meets you right at the threshold between who you were as a student and who you’re becoming next. She believes that turning attention inward first is what calms and clears the mind, and what lets a person find root in where they are, where they came from, and where they’re headed.
Meet your Instructor
Barbara Piper supports young professionals just stepping into the world of work as well as senior leaders reshaping how they lead through the same passage, at different points in the journey.
Her background spans international communication management in the corporate sector and general management in healthcare, followed by years designing and delivering leadership programs, including as Senior Faculty at THNK, School for Leadership, and as compassion ambassador for Stanford University’s CCARE. She holds an MA in Communication and is a Stanford-trained certified Compassion Facilitator.
Living and working abroad gave her a natural ease across cultures and generations — useful, since this program meets you right at the threshold between who you were as a student and who you’re becoming next. She believes that turning attention inward first is what calms and clears the mind, and what lets a person find root in where they are, where they came from, and where they’re headed.