Sustainable wellbeing isn’t about doing more. It’s about understanding how you are wired and using your strengths with intention.
AVRIL KIDD
Living in Africa, we are so spoiled by our wildlife, weather, and breathtaking landscapes. Taking that time away was a huge reminder of how vital it is to actively protect and replenish our Wellbeing. This is a theme that ties directly into a fascinating study recently published by Six Seconds in Frontiers in Psychology.
Your Brain’s ‘Home Screen’
The study, titled “Into the Headwinds: Key Emotional Intelligence Capacities That Predict Women’s Workplace Wellbeing,” analyzed six years of data from over 43,000 women across 114 countries.*
At the core of this research is the concept of Brain Talents.
These are 18 learnable, measurable, and actionable emotional intelligence capabilities measured by the Six Seconds (SEI) assessment. Unlike fixed personality traits, Brain Talents are skills that can be intentionally strengthened through coaching and practice.
A helpful way to think about Brain Talents is to picture your smartphone:
Every smartphone comes equipped with access to loads of apps, just as your brain has access to all 18 Brain Talents. However, the apps you use every single day sit right on your home screen and are fast, familiar, and part of your daily routine.
The talents you practice less frequently are still installed on your device, but they sit on page three, waiting for you to open them.
The 18 Measurable Brain Talents
The 18 Brain Talents are grounded in decades of neuroscience and organizational psychology, mapping how we process data, make decisions, and drive action:
- Focus (Data Processing): Data Mining, Modeling, Prioritizing, Connection, Emotional Insight, Collaboration.
- Decisions (Evaluation & Innovation): Reflection, Adaptability, Critical Thinking, Resilience, Risk Tolerance, Imagination.
- Drive (Action): Proactivity, Commitment, Problem Solving, Vision, Design, Entrepreneurship.
The Power Trio for Workplace Wellbeing
Out of all 18 capabilities, the Into the Headwinds study identified five specific Brain Talents that serve as the strongest predictors of workplace wellbeing:
- Commitment: Maintaining focus on purpose and what matters most.
- Resilience: Recovering, adapting, and growing through challenges.
- Proactivity: Taking intentional action rather than simply reacting.
- Imagination: Thinking creatively and generating new possibilities.
- Risk Tolerance: Navigating uncertainty and complexity with confidence.
The 8.6x Difference
While all five are critical, Commitment, Resilience, and Proactivity emerged as the ultimate Power Trio. Women who scored high in all three were 8.6 times more likely to experience high workplace wellbeing than those with lower scores.
Crucially, this finding held true across all job levels, proving that personal wellbeing is driven far less by your job title or seniority, and far more by your daily emotional intelligence habits.
A Red Flag for Middle Management: The study also revealed that middle management is the career stage where women’s wellbeing dips most significantly, despite having strong baseline EQ. Middle managers often face high organizational pressure without matching structural support, making this a vital focal point for targeted leadership development.
Unlocking Your Team’s Brain Talents
Emotional intelligence isn’t an innate gift that only some people are born with. It is a trainable toolkit. By intentionally developing key Brain Talents, organizations can shield their teams against burnout, elevate leadership pipelines, and build sustainable performance.
If you are curious about what is currently running on your own ‘home screen’, the Six Seconds SEI Assessment provides simple, practical, and highly engaging insights:
- The Brain Discovery Profile: Highlights your top 3 and bottom 3 Brain Talents together with a snapshot of your Brain Style.
- The Brain Talent Profile: Maps your top 6 Brain Talents alongside a comprehensive snapshot of your brain style.
These profiles form the foundation of many of my corporate workshops and 1-on-1 coaching sessions, where I help individuals and teams translate EQ theory into measurable everyday success.
Reflection
As defined in the SEI model, Wellbeing is your capacity to maintain optimal energy and functioning (specifically through balance and health).
Take a moment to reflect this week:
- Which Brain Talents are currently sitting on your brain’s ‘home screen’?
- Which ‘apps’ have been sitting unused on page three that could help you or your team restore balance right now?
If you’d like to explore running a Brain Profile session for yourself or your leadership team, please feel free to reach out directly.