Honesty. Respect. Integrity. Trust.

All human beings have similar wants and needs. We want honesty, respect, integrity, and trust. These four are intricately linked together. We want to belong to something bigger than ourselves and to matter.

Wanting honesty, respect, integrity and trust is about wanting to live in an environment in which we feel safe. It’s about wanting to know what we’re dealing with so that we can exist on a calm level without having to constantly evaluate what might come next and how we need to protect ourselves from it.

When we are constantly having to deal with change on whatever level, our physical bodies get caught in an ongoing cycle of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones try to keep our physical bodies on alert so that we can deal with whatever change may come by fighting it or running for cover. Such is the primal biological response wired into our brains. While we’re dealing with this response, those same hormones draw blood flow away from “less necessary” functions like digestion and our immune system. After an extended period of time, we may end up in adrenal fatigue — our minds and bodies unable to recover from having been on alert for so long.

Whilst this biological response to our environment may have been relevantly triggered by a sabre-toothed tiger in days gone by, it’s now triggered indiscriminately by traffic, noise, uncertain or unpredictable work environments, our relationships within those environments, challenging emails — and everything else that our subconscious mind may perceive as a threat.

Honesty, respect, integrity and trust are the key ingredients that allow us to build an environment within which we can operate using our whole brain to focus on the matter at hand. When our brain isn’t focusing on survival (even if that’s a deluge of challenging emails or recovering from the drive to work), it can open up on different levels that give us access to rational thought and creativity. When our bodies are calm and our minds are safe, entirely different combinations of hormones course through our bodies, and what we’re able to achieve on a mental and physical level is more sustainable and productive. This is true for our team members, and it’s true for our clients!