We do not want our leaders’ personal beliefs forced upon us - we want our tribe’s authentic values articulated. And we don’t want rules - we want values to aspire to that define what it means to be part of our tribe. Beyond kin, this concept of Whakapapa frames our connection to any group we belong to. It is a universal idea and one that Eastwood has coached on around the world. Whakapapa is a Maori idea which embodies our universal human need to belong. It represents a powerful spiritual belief - that each of us is part of an unbroken and unbreakable chain of people who share a sacred identity. Owen places this concept at the core of his methods to maximise a team's performance. An understanding of the environment and its impact on people is more important than charisma and passion. Plus clarity of thinking. “Humans flourish in environments where the leadership is consistent and composed; they don’t tend to thrive in environments where there are wild mood swings and inconsistency of behaviour.” When the sun shines on us we are alive, we are strong. For we have had passed down to us a culture that immerses us in deep belonging. We feel safe and respected. We share beliefs and a sense of identity with those around us and this anchors us. We share a purpose with them. We share a vision of the future. We fit in here. Rituals and traditions tie us together. The experiences and wisdom of those who walked in the light before our time are passed on to us.

Book Review: Belonging Three Star Leadership | Wally Bock | Book Review: Belonging

In some ways, Eastwood, who has also worked with the British Olympic Association, the Royal Ballet School and the command group of Nato is the secret weapon. On Thursday, in the aftermath of Wednesday’s victory, he was in dialogue with Southgate. I think mastery for me has a light side and a dark side. On the light side, it’s about growth. It’s about getting a deep understanding and really sharpening your tools in an area. For me, it’s really, really important that that benefits a tribe. To me, it’s not an individualistic thing so much as how this will help others. That’s the culture I come from. I think the other side though, is that sometimes mastery people associated with imposing themselves, it’s become synonymous with power and influence over people. So I master others, I master a situation. And for me, that’s not the optimal environment when we feel we are trying to dominate. I think the great environments that I’ve certainly seen are ones where the growth, the mastery is enabled because people are given a freedom to express themselves and freedom to be vulnerable, freedom to take risks. The beauty of Maori culture We reconnect to the past which requires understanding the heritage of a team and the tribe they represent. A whakapapa is moulded featuring key ancestors, moments and legacies of the team but also studied is the wider story of the tribe the team represents. Connecting to the future requires asking what the team’s vision is - what they are working towards and what the environment needs to enable and drive towards. A lot of credible research supports Eastwood’s points. The research is woven together with stories. Some of the stories are from Owen Eastwood’s own experience as a performance coach. Others are historical examples or stories other people have told him. The result is an engaging, easy to read book.

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An Us story tends to connect a team to their identity. A major part of the identity story may be the way they responded at a time of adversity - for instance an emotive story from one of the World Wars. It all helps to create a deep sense of belonging and consequently a deep focus on the legacy of the current team. Whakapapa is a Maori idea which embodies our universal human need to belong. It represents a powerful spiritual belief – that each of us is part of an unbroken and unbreakable chain of people who share a sacred identity. Owen places this concept at the core of his methods to maximise a team’s performance.

Belonging by Owen Eastwood | Hachette UK

So what is the common ground between the collectivist and individualistic models of society? Personal meaning. Once a common purpose has been articulated, each person should have an opportunity to attach personal meaning to it. For those individualist societies, this part of the process is particularly important. They need space to work through how the collective purpose also enhances them personally. But it’s also important that ritual and traditions have a presence beyond the induction of new members to keep everyone connected and maintain their collective sense of identity. These may include a ritual to commence a new campaign, closure on certain events or chapters, and rites of passage events such as milestones and, importantly, beloved members transitioning out of the team.Studies show how storytelling ability enhances a leader’s influence and power through shifting the hormonal state of the group. —> I should find powerful storytellers like Orran and work closely with them.

Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness by Owen Eastwood

This week’s conversation is with Owen Eastwood, a Performance Coach engaged by high profile teams around the world hunting for a competitive advantage through their culture.For readers looking to take something practical away to implement with their organisation, it’s just not that sort of a book. Instead it has an arc that begins with belonging, then gently meanders through rituals. In the 2nd half it ends strongly emphasising the need for humble leadership, solid facilitation, weeding out alphas and emphasising over and over again, the need to involve team members to define what is expected of each other. What about tomorrow then? Eastwood won’t be there; he’s never been to an England game, he doesn’t need to, he’ll watch at home in the Cotswolds with his family. Will they succeed though? “A successful team has a clarity about its higher purpose. The England football team has a purpose to inspire and unify the English nation. For me personally, I believe this team is successful already, because no matter what happens on Sunday, they’ve done that.” Belonging before performance: in our high-accountability working culture, sometimes workplaces don’t accept people until they have proved themselves. But this is a false economy: people will only thrive when they feel accepted and safe from the outset; we must offer true belonging before we have ‘proof’ of someone’s work or output. Finally, a huge thanks to my sponsors, Puresport. Their range of CBD and Nootropics supplements have had a significant impact on how I sleep, manage stress, and focus throughout the day. I can’t recommend them enough.

Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness by Owen Eastwood Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness by Owen Eastwood

They display an awareness that we retain the emotional feeling of a first experience much longer than the details of the encounter. The hosts connected immediately with the audience by highlighting a few family members’ birthdays as well as identifying former Royal Marines present. At the end of the ceremony Eastwood was shown a wall where there were photos of each graduating Commando class through the years. The message was clear - we are kin and everyone belongs here. While the book and Owen are largely oriented around sport teams and situations, ‘Belonging’ is as significant (if not more so) in the realms of the workplace, home and wider whānau (family). Every year people who wear that shirt create history and leave a benchmark for the next generation to aspire to” If you want to understand what makes great teams great, Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness will give you another piece of the puzzle. You’ll also learn techniques to put Eastwood’s principles into practice. When you do that, you’ll become one with the great teams of the past.At this stage a paradox plays out. We enter self-preservation mode as our mind begins to think about surviving rather than succeeding. Extrinsic motivation weakens a team: while extrinsic motivation can help motivate individuals (usually in the short term) with things like money and status, this emphasis on the individual weakens the team. The team needs to have a strong sense of collective intrinsic motivation: a shared story and set of goals that everyone is striving to reach. Whakapapa (pronounce it “fakapapa”) is the Māori way of explaining your place in the world and your place in any tribe or family, Eastwood says.