“Gratitude became my door to grace.”
Alexsys Thompson The Power of a Graceful Leader
This year at Horizon Point, we launched a training curriculum called Illuminate, seeking to further our mission to innovate the workplace through people practices and bring light to all that we do.
The training idea came about from our work seeking to help organizations adapt in a rapidly changing workplace environment and from our personal experiences of trying to do the same.
What seemed to resonate the most in all the concepts taught was the practice of gratitude. Each participant was given personalized thank you notes and encouraged to write one note a week for a year in order to express gratitude to people that had an impact on them.
We realized there wasn’t enough gratitude going around. That’s why it was so impactful, because there was a scarcity of it instead of an abundance.
And with this, we realized that in order for gratitude to go around, we needed to focus on what it means to be a Graceful Leader and hold ourselves and others to Graceful Accountability. We needed to help people see that they could exist in a place where accountability and expectations can and should coexist with empathy and grace.
That the duality of things actually improves upon all things. As Aleyxs Thompson quotes Richard Rudd in our book of the year, grace is “careful without being fearful, caring without being overbearing, candid without being cruel.”
Our book of the year states that “grace is the key to sustained happiness, more fulfilling work, and performance that impacts the world” and that gratitude is the door to accessing this kind of grace.
So with this, we decided to present two gifts to you this year in appreciation of your partnership with us. You’ll find our book of the year- The Power of a Graceful Leader, as well as twelve personalized thank you cards. We hope you will use the book to fuel your thoughts on leading with grace. Chapter three specifically focuses on how gratitude is the entry point to grace. As we move into 2023, we hope you’ll write one note a month to someone to whom you owe an acknowledgement of your gratitude and how they have impacted you.
One is the means and one is the end. Our habits form us and shape who we are becoming. We hope that the habit of gratitude will mold and shape us all into graceful leaders.
We are incredibly grateful for your partnership with us this year. Thank you for trusting us to walk alongside you to impact people and workforce practices. Many blessings to you and your family during this joyous season!
