That’s the headline of the article that appeared this week about Grateful Leadership in the Rockland Jewish Standard – while I do love it, I am also humbled by it. That’s because I don’t truly want or have the power to reinvent CEOs, but can simply give them access – access to their own gratitude, appreciation and acknowledgment that already exists within them. Most of us don’t access these wonderful qualities all of the time, but we can do it on a more regular basis! So another title for this lovely article could be “Opening the Hearts and Spirits of CEOs.”  The CEOs and other Grateful Leaders I profiled in my book really demonstrate openheartedness on a regular basis.

I love this quote from Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods, for example: “I think of the amber waves of grain from the patriotic song ‘America the Beautiful,’ and this brings forth an image for me of ‘unfolding waves of gratitude.’” That is pure poetry, as far as I am concerned, and I am sure it is original. We are all original when we open our hearts. The purity of our expression toward those who matter to us, or should matter to us, is unique and can only come from us to those special people in order to make the difference it is intended to make.

I for one am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have to be an instrument for the opening of people’s hearts – people of all nationalities (I’m going to Finland in April to do training for a huge company there), ethnicities, all levels, genders and economic levels in an organization. We are all natural leaders, and only we can truly reinvent ourselves. No one can do it for us, even though I am flattered by the headline. Leaders of all levels, it is time to reinvent ourselves by opening our hearts and expressing the appreciation we feel toward all of our stakeholders. In spite of the powerful headline, I can’t reinvent you; I can only motivate and inspire you to open your hearts and to make a huge difference in your businesses, your families and your communities. Let’s do it together.