You Don’t Need to Have a Purpose: A Conversation about Belonging with Owen Eastwood

In this episode, I'm joyfully bringing you a conversation with the author of the book “Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness”, Owen Eastwood.
Have you been in work situations where you might have started in a company and you just didn’t feel like you belonged, which then led to a lot of stress and tension? Join us as we learn how to create a sense of belonging with the Belonging author, Owen Eastwood.
Owen draws on his own Maori ancestry and weaves together insights from our evolutionary story and our collective wisdom as he helps people create a sense of belonging, especially in workplaces. Owen shines a light on where these powerful ideas are applied around the world in high performing settings, encompassing sports, business, the arts, and military.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Owen and I discuss:
His book, “Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness”
What the concept of Whakapapa is all about
How he felt when he was called in to create an intervention for the South
African cricket team
How to create a collective feeling of belonging
Why he dispels the myth that we all, as individuals, need a purpose
The impact of environment and how that affects your ability to be
resilient and to feel like you belong
Our central nervous system (the cues that our body gives us)
Rapid round
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[@MelissaLithgow]

Great poddy as always! As a South African, I have to wonder whether the issue stemmed from the fact that some of the players weren't 'allowed' to feel proud of their history because of the racial issues in the country? Regardless of the fact that some of the history was atrocious, some of it was also pretty inspiring on all sides (sport wise) and the future was even brighter.
I don't want to enter into any political conversation, looking at this purely from a team culture and belonging view.
How did they overcome this and find a common history to be proud of and anchor into? Thanks guys.

[@LeanneHughes]

Melissa, thanks so much for listening and sharing your thoughtful reflection. That’s actually spot on (the theme of “allowed to feel proud”) that Owen shares in his book, and all the different perspectives of what it means to be South African and wear the shirt. I’ll have to re-read the chapter and follow up with you re- how they got past it (in specific details), more generally, Owen created a space wheee they could acknowledge their feelings, and discuss the elephant in the room. This happened quite quickly with one team member sharing a vulnerably story about their mixed feelings. This created the platform for others to share.