News and Resources

April 2009

These golden rules will help create a New-U

NAVIGATING your way through the choppy waters of the current economic crisis can be tough, even if you're lucky enough to have a stable job.

But for many of us, these turbulent times have meant having to make some big decisions about our future. Most of us do our best to muddle through by ourselves, taking advice only from those closest to us. But more and more people are turning to professional life coaches for help as they reach a crossroads.

Gillian Brown is one such person who knows how much help they can be. The 36-year-old from Edinburgh spent 12 years working in human resources and had just become a mum when she turned to a life coach.

She was so impressed with the help she received, that she decided to become a life coach herself. Gillian said: "It was a powerful experience for me, as when you're working and wrapped up in day-to-day life you don't really get the opportunity or the time to take stock. I hadn't looked at what I had to offer in terms of skills, strengths, talents, and whether I was really happy.

"I realised that I wasn't happy in my job and that I was struggling with the balance between work and life, being a new mum but still wanting a successful career.

"So life coaching gave me the opportunity to take time out. Even though I was only seeing her for an hour every couple of weeks for a few months, by the end of that I had packed in my job, set up my company and written my first training course."

Gillian is now managing director of New-U Coaching, offering the same support and advice that she benefited from.

And it's not just a case of helping people sort out their working lives.

She said: "Many of us know people who have been made redundant or have fears about jobs, so we explore those topics in detail and look at the impact it will have on their life.

"That includes everything from their family to their lifestyle. Life coaching is a very future-focused thing so you have to accept what is happening and put together a strategy based on what you want to do in the future.

"So if it's a change in career, we will help an individual map the steps to get from A to B.We've had lawyers, accountants, people working in property, people in the financial industry, and recently we had someone working in education who'd had enough, and is now selling her own jewellery, so it's a real mixed bag."

One of Gillian's first pieces of advice is that people shouldn't panic if they face losing their jobs.

She said: "When people do lose their jobs they tend to think 'why me?' and take it personally, so what we do is to help people acknowledge what has happened and to look towards the future.

"Getting a piece of paper and writing down what your ideal life would look like is a good idea. Then you can put together a plan which will help you achieve it.

"By doing that you focus on the possibilities and the opportunities of the future rather than the anxiety and frustration of the past.

"So what might seem like a negative experience could be seen as an opportunity. Life coaching can help you focus on the positives."

Speaking to someone who doesn't know about your life can make a huge difference in terms of working out the way forward.

Gillian added: "The help of family and friends is wonderful if you're going through a crisis or a time of change, but the reason many people go for life coaching is because family and friends all have an opinion as they are all emotionally involved.

"Life coaching gives you the space to make the right decision for you, and that's why it's successful. It's objective. It's the client's life, not ours.

" We're there to listen, to provide support and ask the right questions so that people can find out more about themselves, understand themselves and find the confidence to make the decisions they need to make."

January 2009

These golden rules will help create a New-U

EACH year, most of us start the year with a long list of resolutions, which by the end of January have been long forgotten or hidden away.

Usually by March we feel like failures, our energy is low and we have lost our drive to make any changes, so we just go back to our old habits.

In fact, we run right back into the warmth of our comfort zones, hoping our friends, family or colleagues forget about our grandiose ideas and ideals of getting fit, losing that extra stone, stopping smoking, paying off those credit cards, changing jobs or sorting out our lives for good.

So why do we fail? The answers from friends and colleagues have been quite simple and that is because deep down we are not committed to what we have set out to achieve.

The one thing I have learned over the years is that if you don't learn the lesson then it will keep repeating itself until you do. So why not this year learn the lesson for good? Why not make the change you need to in 2009 so you don't feel fed up by the end of January.

So, if you are wanting 2009 to really count, why not choose to keep things simple?

Why not follow these four golden rules that will help you create the change you desire:

• Remove the word resolution from your vocabulary and change it to promise – it is very rare we would break a promise to ourselves.
• Make one promise only to yourself – by doing this you can very quickly determine what will have the greatest impact on your life if you make the change.
• Stretch yourself – you need to acknowledge that at times it can be daunting and challenging. If it is too easy you won't continue to strive or make other changes in your life.
• Believe in yourself – there is nothing more powerful than the power of intention. If you can see the change, feel it and say it out loud, then you are well on your way, your intention has been set, however if you don't believe in it or in yourself then you will retreat back into your comfort zone.

Edinburgh Evening News Published Date: 02 January 2009 By Gillian Brown

September 2008

WORLD class coaching was instrumental in Team GB’s success at the Beijing Olympics, but first-rate techniques are also being used to help people closer to home.

Similar methods to those used on elite athletes are already helping to build confidence, self-belief and purpose among young people in North Lanarkshire, according to Gillian Brown, coaching director of New-U Coaching.

During March and April this year, New-U Coaching provided life coaching for staff of North Lanarkshire Councils’ Children and Families department.

It may not have won any gold medals, but the programme has allowed the potential of young people, often from the most challenging backgrounds, to shine.

The Certificate in Professional Coaching Practice is a globally recognised life coach training qualification delivered in Scotland.

It equips staff with valuable life coaching skills, helping to move young people away from issues such as unemployment, substance dependance and social exclusion to a positive, more successful future.

Jim McCreanor, head of Children and Families at North Lanarkshire Council, says: “New-U Coaching gave our staff the professional expertise needed to effectively help the youngsters believe in themselves and overcome some major barriers.

“The coaching course proved to be a very useful development tool and has spearheaded our own youth welfare initiatives.”

Each member of staff was involved in classroom training, individual coaching sessions and coach supervision.

Across Scotland, the CPCP programme has already delivered significant results to individuals and a number of public and private sector organisations.

They have seen the benefits of coach training and the results achieved in life coaching, workplace coaching and coaching vulnerable groups (social and community coaching).

Gillian explains: “The CPCP course trains staff to become professional life coaches and learn valuable skills immediately through practical experience. Those skills are firmly embedded so they can support the accelerated development of young people and empower them to achieve more.“

Unlike other interventions, the coaching course embraces a shift in the method of development for the young people, supporting the youngsters to make their own decisions and choices on how to improve their situations while providing the support, challenge and motivation to do so.

“This is what makes the programme so successful.” Many of the vulnerable individuals were referred from organisations such as the Children’s Hearing Panel, the Prison Service and substance rehabilitation programmes.

The coach training was part of North Lanarkshire Council’s efforts to help young people lead more productive lives. The next CPCP open course begins in October in Glasgow.

July 2008

NEXT COURSES - Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Sussex.....

New course dates have been added including a residential course at the beautiful and tranquil Duncton Mill retreat. Click here to find out more.

June 2008

Just days left to join the Foundation Certificate in Professional Coaching Practice.

This intense two day coach training course is for people who want to learn more about coaching, some key skills in coaching others and find out if this is a career for them.

The event is taking place in Edinburgh at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel on Princes Street on the 21st and 22nd June. Visit www.lifecoaching.eventbrite.com for more details and to book a place.

New-U gains global coach training recognition

New-U Coaching, one of the UK's leading coach training organisations has been awarded accredited status by the International Coach Federation (ICF), just one of four UK organisations to have done so. Attending their Certificate in Professional Coaching Practice coach training programme will go towards accreditation by the International Coach Federation as a professional, world recognised coach.

Coaching Director, Gillian Brown, says, “We are very pleased to have been recognised as a world leading training organisation. We have always developed our courses to change lives and evoke greatness and it is an honour that we are seen as leading the way in doing just that.”