About me

About me

My name is Barbara Bartczak and I’m an intercultural communication expert, business trainer, integral coach and meditation practitioner. Combining more than ten years in the business sphere with my own unique experiences equips me with the skills I need to bring about both material and non-material changes in the lives of my clients.

I have the need to be unique and that’s the image I forge … I emphatically disagree with the notion that each of us is just another fish in the sea. Believing in the power of diversity, I use innovative and varied methods and tools in my work. My job is first to demonstrate that everyone has their own potential and then to draw that potential out and help people to make the most of it.

My work to date includes …

Creating and running training programmes for international brands and business organisations, government administration institutions and agencies, non-governmental organisations, renowned higher education institutions, policy development organisations and private individuals.

You’re bound to have heard of some of my clients, such as, for instance, Google, HP, IBM, Volkswagen Polska, Opel, Bosh, Procter & Gamble, the University of Wrocław, the Anna Lindh Foundation, PANOPA Logistik GmbH and Accelor Mittal.

How do I work?

My training courses and sessions are built around a fusion of methods which balance body, mind, soul and spirit. This creates what I call an integral model of collaboration which enables me to work cognitively with the people attending and engages them at both the spiritual and corporeal level simultaneously. It’s my firm belief that bringing both these spheres into play at one and the same time empowers us to make long-lasting and sustainable changes to our lives.

I never build derivative solutions. Immersion in doing and experiencing is an indispensable element of my work and springs from my conviction that this is how we learn. My courses and sessions take a workshop approach. Each and every one of them is different and brings highly unusual and non-standard tools into play, including social and Zen meditation, working on the body and voice, coaching, non-violent communication methods and other innovative solutions.

I work in a range of countries and in three language; Polish, German and English.

How did all this begin?

My personal history influenced my choice of vocation. I was brought up in a bicultural environment, partly in Germany and partly in Poland.

I decided to focus on the development of intercultural management in Poland. Together with some friends, I founded SIETAR Polska (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research), the national branch of an international organisation uniting intercultural enthusiasts and devotees.

In the meantime, I gave myself over to my academic work, yet I was being pulled by the need to take a break from didactics. The overwork and stress triggered by a crushing excess of responsibilities and obligations added their burden, a feeling that I imagine you are all too familiar with, as well. So I decided to seek out my own path in the world’s far-flung spots.

I committed myself to that journey for several reasons. My purpose was to explore the phenomenon of cultural difference, take a metaphorical ‘breath’ and enrich myself with new experiences. I travelled to various corners of the world, staying in monasteries, convents and ashrams and absorbing the Zen teachings of the spiritual preceptors I met along the way. One of the conclusions I came to was that seated meditation is simply not enough … that meditating in that way is incompatible with the lifestyle model of our times. This led me to start delving into social meditation combined with movement and developing ways to bring it into play within the realities of the modern-day business world.

And privately…

I am a restless spirit, incapable of taking root in one spot. Both at work and in private, I focus on bringing people’s natural potential to light and spurring them on to give life to their unique enthusiasms and achieve their goals. I believe that everyone is an expert in their field …. everyone has their own potential! My job is to draw that potential out and help people to make the most of it.

I also write a travel blog –  „Basia Bartczak on dream travels"

My life motto can be summed up in one sentence; Where our comfort zone ends is where the true adventure begins.

Would you set out on that adventure with me?

And now, will you tell me about the greatest challenge you or your company are facing?