Abraham Maslow states: “Although human beings are capable of being selfish, lustful, and aggressive, that is not what they are fundamentally. Beneath the surface, at the psychological and biological core of human nature, we find basic goodness and decency. When people appear to be something other than good and decent, it is only because they are reacting to stress, pain, or the deprivation of basic human needs such as security, love, and self-esteem.”

This brief passage, should one be willing to be open to it, provides a lot of thought. What if we could look at those who annoy, anger, or frustrate us in this way? If we knew that deep-down, these people are not evil but rather in pain of some kind? What if a leader’s responsibility were to assist those who are deprived to self-actualize so that they, too, may change and act for the greater good?