Wellness and Whole Brain® Thinking: An Auckland Breakfast Seminar

by | Mar 8, 2018

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When we feel our best, we perform our best. It’s genuinely that simple. Focusing on our own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of those around us, is a key part of setting the stage for success.

At our recent Auckland Whole Brain® Thinking & Wellness Breakfast Seminar, we explored the different ways to view wellbeing and how we can better support ourselves and one another.

This session gave attendees the tools to more effectively:

  • Broaden their mind and shift themselves from surviving to thriving
  • Understand human behaviour
  • Leverage wellbeing tools and learn how to apply them
  • Identify potential limitations and biases
  • Learn how to create new neural pathways

In partnership with Hannah Airey, Director of Workplace Wellbeing, the event’s aim was to present breakthrough thinking to help attendees explore how to be happier in both the professional and personal realms.

Let’s break down where exactly Whole Brain® Thinking fits into the equation.

What does Whole Brain® Thinking have to do with well-being?

Wellness can feel like a big topic to tackle. Especially when you have to consider the wellbeing needs of an entire office of diverse people. Whole Brain® Thinking gives us a lens through which to view wellness. It makes acting on well-being seem like a much more achievable task.

Thinking preferences shape our concepts of well-being. For example, when it comes to social wellbeing, If you are a people-oriented, emotional-type, meaningful conversations about your career and your personal life are critical to your general happiness. If you are a facts-oriented, data driven person, your well-being at work will depend less on personal conversations and more on having the tools you need to dive into work.

The four-colour, four-quadrant graphic and Whole Brain(R) are registered trademarks of Herrmann Global, LLC. (C) 2015 Herrmann Global, LLCThe four-colour, four-quadrant graphic and Whole Brain® are registered trademarks of Herrmann Global, LLC.© 2015 Herrmann Global, LLC

Looking at wellbeing through the four quadrants helps us understand the different forms wellbeing can take and where the needs of different thinkers intersect. It allows for a more holistic approach to wellbeing, resulting in a better chance of success.

We know that wellbeing affects everything we do. Whole Brain® Thinking gives individuals the tools they need to understand their own wellness needs and leaders the frameworks they need to build a comprehensive wellness strategy.

Using the Whole Brain® approach to wellness helps you take action rather than just wishing you had. During the event, we examined areas where inaction often happens in our lives and then worked through questions from each of the four quadrants.

  • What is currently stressing you? (Blue)
  • How do you feel about it? Who is involved? (Red)
  • What outcome would you like? What does good look like? (Yellow)
  • What actions do you need to take to achieve this? (Green)

When we ask ourselves more holistic questions we not only get to the root of the problem but can come up with stronger action items to address our wellness needs more effectively.

The Aha Moment: What works for me might not work for you

The best part of this event was getting to hear from different thinkers. Different groups of thinkers verbalised what wellbeing means to them and that’s when the Aha moments started to occur.

It’s easy to think that what works for you works for everyone else around you – but it’s just not true. Part of wellbeing for highly social people involves frequent interactions with others, but for the introverts among us the opposite is true. We need to remember that different people have different needs.

Being inclusive in your understanding of wellbeing allows you to better shape initiatives within your own office and beyond. We know that employee wellbeing drives key business outcomes. When your team is feeling good, they are producing better work at a steadier pace and contributing to a more positive office culture.

When we understand that there is more than one path to well-being we can invest in the diverse resources and build more comprehensive initiatives to present employees with the tools they need to thrive.

Interested in learning more about Whole Brain® Thinking and how it can transform your approach to well-being? Reach out to one of the team members at Herrmann today!

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