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People are scared of having emotional conversations … some leaders will run a mile from that. But when there’s a lot of emotions, it’s great, we can learn to optimise that. Teams need emotional energy.” Aspects of Owen's unique approach include: finding your identity story; defining a shared purpose; visioning future success; sharing ownership with others; understanding the 'silent dance' that plays out in groups; setting the conditions to unleash talent; and converting our diversity into a competitive advantage. Aspects of Owen's unique approach finding your identity story; defining a shared purpose; visioning future success; sharing ownership with others; understanding the 'silent dance' that plays out in groups; setting the conditions to unleash talent; and converting our diversity into a competitive advantage. We are wired to be extremely pragmatic and highly strategic in how we toggle between Us and Them. Eastwood grew up in an area where traditional schools were delineated between Catholics and Protestants. But when a regional sports team was created then both Catholics and Protestants would come together as a unified tribe against the region to the North of them. An interesting read on high-performance cultures with a solid set of principles built on primal instincts rather than MBA speak. Loses its focus for the final third of the book where it begins to feel slightly rushed but a very interested read nonetheless.
Once language emerged, Homo sapiens began congregating around the campfire to tell and share the Us story. This helped to promote our survival by keeping the group bonded together and aligned in the face of surrounding challenges. A copy of Eastwood's new book, Belonging, was given to every England player when they reported for duty at the European Championships' - Telegraph Why would you turn a blind eye to such a valuable lessons within our Us story? When a culture’s resilience is questioned through a mistake or malpractice, the story must be “carved into the walls” so that our descendants can learn from them. Humans need to belong, it is an element of performance. “We try to signal to players that this is a place where you belong. You are respected, this is a safe place, we want you to be yourself and express yourself.” The powerful metaphor it introduces to explain the meaning of ‘whakapapa’ (a concept held by Aotearoa New Zealand Māori) is so clear and meaningful, it surely can be used to make a difference. This concept is universal but in many cultures undervalued or even obscured by modern life.Each episode ends with three key takeaway points for schools. This is the first in a 10-episode series. This induction is the most critical time as an individual is most open to this new experience - our first experiences have a long-lasting impact on our sense of being part of this team. In Māori culture, the principle of Whakapapa places oneself in a wider context that links to land and tribal groupings and heritage. It offers a sense of immortality, attaching ourselves to something permanent in this impermanent world. In whakapapa terms, as the sun arrives on each generation their high purpose is passed on to them and they ask the question: what do we need to do to promote the wellbeing of our people? Therein lies their mission. 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.
Working with the NATO Command Group, Eastwood invoked whakapapa to reflect on previous NATO Command Groups, looking at the challenges they faced when the sun shone on them and the legacies they ultimately left. They then previewed their own legacy as the sixteenth leadership team and articulated this in writing with a whakapapa legacy statement. We can make people feel a deep sense of belonging immediately by giving an induction to the individual with an Us story, an induction to the history of the team or project and allow them to connect with that history and Us story personally. Even a personal conversation with the leader to explain the new recruits role within the tribe really helps. Our ancestors deeply understood our primal need to belong, and now we’re beginning to see psychology and nueroscience begin to gather the proof for their instinct.When our need to belong is met we can focus on a team’s shared mission. We are comfortable being vulnerable in our quest to get better. We feel secure enough that others can point out where we could be better. Our own identity and that of the team coexist. One of the wisest books about winning you'll ever read... Powerful lessons beautifully expressed' - James Kerr
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.”
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A copy of Eastwood's new book, Belonging , was given to every England player when they reported for duty at the European Championships' - Telegraph Sustaining success is very difficult from a hormonal point-of-view. Our dopamine system is anticipatory. We receive bursts in the pursuit of a goal rather than on the attainment of it. These bursts increase when the outcome is uncertain as opposed to guaranteed. This explains why we can feel so flat immediately after a major event or performance.
On the early grasslands, we carried obvious physiological disadvantages over other animals but from this brutal reality the super strength of Homo sapiens emerged: the ability to form strongly-bonded and highly effective groups.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. That means no complex models, no fancy diagrams. Eastwood draws on our “evolutionary super strength” to connect and belong that seems so blindingly obvious, you wonder how it ever dropped out of sport. Working “in the shadows”, offering a sounding board to captains, coaches and chief executives, Eastwood urges them to embrace emotions. 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. Our cognitive decision-making, problem-solving in real time is much better when our stress is under control because our anxiety is reduced. And most of all, when we feel we belong and our anxiety is reduced, if we don’t understand something, then we will put our hand up and are much more likely to say: ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t quite understand what you’re asking me to do’. You can’t call it a high-performance environment if you can’t put your hand up and say if you’re not clear on the gameplan.’ Youth suicide is a huge concern in Aotearoa and the world in general. If this book’s concept of belonging and the marvellous metaphor it uses to convey whakapapa could be taught to all children, surely fewer of our rangatahi (precious young) would question their place, their value, their purpose on Earth. And more people would understand their obligation to be 'good ancestors'.
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