In this post-truth, Orwellian society that we now find ourselves in, but as quintessential leaders we must strive not to be part of, deception and dishonesty have become the norm and have become acceptable.
“What is truth?,” sarcastically asked the man who washed his hands publicly of the blood of Jesus Christ before sentencing Him to death by crucifixion at the insistence of the Jews in Judea.
Those same words and that same tenor are the narrative of the world you and I inhabit now. As a result, truth has vanished almost entirely from a societal perspective.
In its place is deception and dishonesty. Facts don’t matter, nor do they even have to exist. Facts can be completely ignored, or they can be twisted and spun to fit into individual and organizational interpretations, or they can be cherry-picked to fit individual and organizational ideas and dogma.
Although this has deeply permeated and entrenched itself in every part of our society – home, business, education, religion, politics, social groups, etc. – most of us haven’t even noticed.
It’s as though most of us just went AWOL from knowing about, caring about, and fighting the war to retain integrity and honesty, which are among the core components that build trust and make us trustworthy, not just as quintessential leaders, but as human beings.
That lack of awareness, understanding, discernment, and perceptiveness has led most of us right into being deceptive and dishonest ourselves.
One of the most obvious areas in which this wholesale deception and dishonesty is apparent is complete disconnect between the words we say and write and how we describe who and what we are – our hearts.
The fact – the truth – is that there is no disconnect between our hearts – the core of who we are – and the words we write and say.
Our words reveal everything there is to know about us on the inside. Our attitudes. Our motives. Our thoughts. Our intents. Our emotions. Our feelings.
And no matter how many words we employ to try to persuade people that we are something other than the words we speak and say, it does not change the truths that our words reveal about who and what we are.
Yet there is a common deception that has taken root in our society that disputes this fact and this truth.
A recent example reminded me of how pervasive and prevalent this deception has become.
In a January 9th, 2017 article in Politico, the author recounts that President Trump’s spokeswoman, Kellyanne Conway, made the following statement about then president-elect Donald Trump to CNN anchor Chris Cuomo:
“You have to listen to what the president-elect has said about that. Why don’t you believe him? Why is everything taken at face value? You can’t give him the benefit of the doubt on this and he’s telling you what was in his heart? You always want to go by what’s come out of his mouth rather than look at what’s in his heart.”
The truth is that what is in our hearts comes out of our mouths, whether that’s written, typed, or spoken. So President Trump’s words, whether they are spoken or tweeted, are the accurate reflection of who and what he is – what is in his heart.
There is absolutely no way around that truth, not just about President Trump, but also about each one of us individually – you and me, unless we drink the Kool-Aid.
Quintessential leaders are continually doing thorough and comprehensive heart checks and inventories. Just like with a physical heart, if we’re not actively, in every part of our lives, purposefully making sure our hearts – who and what we are on the inside – are healthy, our hearts can get clogged, diseased, and damaged.
We don’t, as I recently visibly winced at hearing someone say, live in a bubble of specialness, where we can give our hearts a lick and promise in a general sort of way and assume we’re okay. If you believe that, then you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid.
As quintessential leaders, we must keep diligent guard over our hearts. A very wise king once wrote: “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” And right after this he wrote, tying our hearts and words rightly together, “Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously.
How are we doing?
The Quintessential Leader 