Noo Coaching

There it was.

20 minutes into my pre work ride and I'd written in my head a presentation that I'd been stuck on for days.

All it took was creating the right environment for clarity - freedom to think, no technology distractions and a new perspective.

Here's why:
Sustained stress suppresses the very parts of the brain we need for creative, flexible thinking.

When we step away from screens and pressure, those parts come back online, making connections that focused effort actively blocks.

This is exactly what coaching does.

By creating the conditions your brain needs to find its own answers. The right question opens thinking that felt stuck and suddenly it's available.

Want to try it yourself?

Before your next piece of work you've been avoiding or are stuck with, don't sit down and force it. Take 20 minutes for a walk, ride, or just move.

Leave your phone behind and notice what arrives.

The answer is usually already there. It just needed space.

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" Our sessions challenged me to deepen my thinking, leading to the realisation that I already possess the necessary answers. I simply needed a fresh perspective to evaluate all my options."

Maria, Noo Coaching (a part of Noo HR Ltd) client.

Four years ago, I thought I had didn't have the capability to do my role.

I'd spent over 20 years building a successful HR career.

- I knew how to lead through change.
- I knew how to solve problems.
- I knew how to keep going when things were tough.

Yet I found myself exhausted, questioning everything and wondering why things that had once felt manageable suddenly felt overwhelming both at work and at home.

My first assumption?

Something must be wrong with me.

But what I've learnt since is that nothing was wrong with me - I was depleted.

Years of leading through uncertainty, carrying responsibility, supporting others and ignoring my own needs had taken their toll.

I see the same pattern in many of the leaders I now coach.

They haven't failed. They've simply been carrying more than any one person was designed to carry alone for too many years.

Have you ever mistaken depletion for failure?

Here’s some things you probably don't know about me:

➡️ I spent most of my childhood and teens swimming competitively - training, galas, lifeguard competitions.

➡️ My first job at 18 was lifeguard at Butlins.

➡️ I wanted to be in the Police in the underwater search unit - I failed 3 assessments to join so became a Special Constable instead.

➡️ I managed a winning gastro pub in London.

There is always a story that shapes the people you work with day in and day out.

Try spending some time getting to know them, especially in these remote working days - I'm sure you'll be surprised what has shaped who they are.

Photo of me doing a swim-run event in the lakes with my friend Simon, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago but still keeps me motivated.

So much overthinking and over preparing for a 20 min slot in a monthly meeting.

I was sat there preparing for a simple exec meeting and yet second-guessing everything.

❓️ Was I presenting the right information?

❓️ Was it strategic enough, commercial enough, good enough

❓️ How would it add value and show my functions worth?

❓️ Was it as good as everyone else’s?

I was good at my job and had years of experience, but somewhere along the way I started leading for everyone else's approval instead of from who I actually was.

I was trying to fit the mould of the leader I thought they wanted me to be. I labelled it as normal, commitment, professionalism, growing and learning.

Always trying to feel listened to and valued. But looking back, that was the beginning of what I now know as the leadership drift.

If any of that sounds familiar - the gap between how you appear and how you actually feel - you're not alone.

It's not because you’re not good enough, it's because you want to be the best. But by constantly adapting who you are, has the opposite effect.

I created a short self-assessment that will help you name how far you’ve drifted from your authentic self. Message me and i'll send it over.

I think that this months edition of Insights into Leadership is the one closest to my heart.

I've wanted to write it for a while and so glad that I did.

After I'd written it I cried. Not only because it named my own experience, but because it's something that I am seeing more and more with the leaders who I work with at Noo Coaching (a part of Noo HR Ltd).

I've written about the real reason so many senior leaders are hitting breaking point right now.

The science behind it.

The private pressures nobody talks about in leadership meetings.

The story you're telling yourself that is keeping you stuck.

And what it actually takes to find your way back.

And if this lands - please share it. Someone in your network is reading this on their phone right now, at 6:00am, before anyone else is up, wondering how much longer they can keep going.

They need to know they're not alone

Read it on my website

https://www.noocoaching.co.uk/post/you-havent-failed-youre-depleted

Three years ago, I had a realisation.

There's a better way of working, one that lets you be your best without burning out.

That moment changed everything.

I started talking about it.
Helping others find it.

And slowly, something grew.

Today, that discovery has become the foundation of my work with Leaders who are ready to:

→ Rediscover who they are and what they need

→ Reclaim their careers (and their lives)

→ Reignite their passion for their work

→ Perform at their best and finally feel fulfilled

Because for so many high-performing leaders, fulfilment hasn't disappeared, it's just drifted.

If that resonates, the Career Reset Guide is your starting point - a practical, self-paced tool to help you understand what you need and where to begin.

There is a better way.

It's the NooWay®. 👇

Link below.





Career Reset Guide

https://noo-coaching.kit.com/products/the-noo-way-career-reset-guide

Today is Oakley’s 12th birthday. 🐾

Here’s some of the things I’ve learnt from him over the years…

⭐️To love unconditionally.

⭐️ To find joy in the small things.

⭐️ To rest when you’re tired.

⭐️ To get outside, move your body and breathe fresh air every day.

⭐️ To forgive.

⭐️ To trust your instincts.

⭐️ To not care what anyone else thinks.

⭐️ To live fully in the present instead of constantly worrying about what’s next.

⭐️ To be completely yourself without apology.

⭐️ To start from a place of trust.


What would you add?