As Higher Ground Leaders we must model the behavior we expect in others. We all know that we should love one another, and tell the truth—the essential way of life for the Higher Ground Leader—and most of us know how to do both, we just need someone we respect to actually say the words in practice, in real world, work-a-day situations—in other words, to model the way. Until then, these concepts remain ideals, little more than nice theories better suited to a different kind of world—than the one most of us believe we live in.

Without courage we cannot take even the first steps because they contain so much perceived risk. We are afraid of how we will be judged and that our personalities might be diminished by the criticism of others. We all have an inner awareness and a desire to take the appropriate action to change culture and actions at work, and the rest of our lives, but the ego stands in the way.

Until we listen to our inner voices, inviting our egos to take a secondary role, courage will not be present, but when we do, courage will emerge and give us the one thing that we lack—will. It is the will to change that starts the process; it is the will that invests fire into our passion, fanning the flames in our soul so that we each become instruments of change.

Courage gives us the will to do what is necessary to make change, to rise above the intimidation that our personalities experience from the personalities of others.

Most of us know inauthentic people—people who say one thing and do another; people who feel one thing but say another; people who think one thing, but do another. Authenticity is the opposite of this. When we are authentic, we align our minds, our mouths, our hearts and our feet—we think, say, feel and do the same thing with complete congruence. This is how we become real: by ensuring that what our minds think, what our hearts feel, what our voices speak and where our feet walk are identical. Until we have the courage to think, say, feel and do the same thing, we remain inauthentic. Thus, alignment of our thoughts, words, feelings and deeds results in our becoming authentic humans.

Authenticity, as much as anything, generates love in the hearts of others and our souls cry out for authenticity. What followers yearn for are leaders who are authentic and can therefore be trusted. Authenticity is the basis for building relationships and inspiring each other and our communities, customers and suppliers. The implications for meaningful and deep relationships in our personal lives and higher performance in our corporate lives, are obvious. What a gift this turns out to be—a way of being that inspires the soul and gratifies the personality.

The strangest irony is that we have been teaching a myth about all this: the misguided notion that strong human relationships can be built on a flimsy footing of deceit. How can we build harmony, respect, integrity, honesty, inspiration, leadership or love on a foundation of lies? There is no logical argument that can support the idea that we can build consensus, community, ethics, teamwork, high performance, organizational and personal transformation, or outstanding customer service and quality, without first building the necessary foundation of integrity on which to place them. Why do we expect to become Higher Ground Leaders from a base of dishonesty? After all, if we can’t even trust or tell the truth to each other, what are the grounds for expecting employees, customers, suppliers, or ayone else in our lives, do any better? Walter Scott wrote, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”.

When we experience pain and fear, the brain puts the body into “stress mode”, triggering the release of stress hormones from the limbic system. When we experience love and inspiration, the brain releases the body’s natural “uppers” that lower blood pressure, heart-rate and oxygen consumption. Since the soul and the body are one, our experiences of love or fear directly influence us to the core of our being—emotionally, spiritually and, as we can see, physically. Violence and love are at opposite ends of a continuum, with selfishness at one end and service at the other. One builds. The other destroys.

Love is when my heart touches your heart and adds to who we both are as persons. We know that we all yearn for more love in our lives. But we delude ourselves when we think this is only true of our personal lives and is not just as vital to our work environments and every other aspect of our lives. We all want more love in all of our lives—at home and at work.

According to a Towers Perrin study, negative emotion about work not only results in higher turnover rates, but contributes to the kind of workplace malaise that can materially diminish productivity and performance. Conversely, strong positive emotion correlates with better financial results for an organization, as measured by five-year total shareholder return. The study, among many others, also reveals that while employers are aware of the widespread discontent in their workplaces, they misjudge some of the root causes and risk taking inappropriate actions as a result. “Right now, there is an enormous gap between employees’ current and ideal work experience. People know what they want and need to feel intensely positive about their work, but unfortunately many are not getting it,” said Mark Mactas, Chairman and CEO of Towers Perrin.