When Temple Grandin noticed cattle pushing back in the chute, she saw what others missed: they weren’t being stubborn—they were scared. That insight reshaped the livestock industry and offers a profound lesson for leaders, parents, and humans everywhere: most “difficult behavior” is fear in disguise. In this piece, I unpack how her perspective helps us shift from judgment to understanding and lead above the line where calm, clarity, and compassion can actually change lives.

I'll explain how the the THRIVE model helps us understand whether our decisions are motivated by fear or faith and what we can do to move our motivations above the line.

Research by developmental psychologists suggests that personality traits are formed in early childhood with half being inherited from our...