What is Open Hearts Leadership?
by Chris McCusker, Ph.D.
Photo: Napili at dawn, 2024. Photo credit: Chris McCusker
The Origins of Open Hearts Leadership
For decades, I had the incredible privilege of teaching leadership to some of the brightest students from around the world. Over time, my classrooms became incubators for ideas, each lecture pushing me closer to my own theory of leadership. Like every self-respecting academic in my field, I dreamed of creating that perfect 2x2 matrix—something clear, insightful, and practical enough to stand the test of time. Eventually, I found mine.
The first distinction came from a classic duality in leadership theory: tasks versus people. It's an elegant simplicity echoed in the work of Bob and Lyn Turknett in their wonderful book, Decent People, Decent Company (Turknett & Turknett, 2005). They framed leadership character as a balance between responsibility (tasks) and respect (people), grounded firmly in integrity. For years, this resonated deeply with my students and me.
The second piece fell into place after reading Phil Rosenzweig’s brilliant The Halo Effect (Rosenzweig, 2007). Strategy versus execution—it felt like uncovering the other half of a puzzle. My initial matrix quickly multiplied into four interconnected matrices— I call it Leadership Matrices Theory (McCusker, 2025a, 2025b, 2025c, 2025d). It is an academic indulgence of the highest order, now living in four earnest articles on my Substack (https://substack.com/@openheartsleadership).
But as deeply satisfying, and incredibly helpful to practicing leaders, as these matrices were, something was missing.
Walking and Wondering
The truth is, I do my best thinking at night. During this period, I was fortunate to work security shifts in Napili on Maui. I found myself walking through quiet resorts beneath glorious starlit skies. There was a stillness and clarity to those nights that allowed me to deconstruct everything I thought I knew. Perhaps it was the peacefulness of the ocean breeze, or maybe it was the Indigo Girls serenading me through earbuds, singing of Galileo—the "King of Night Vision, King of Insight."
Night after night, month after month, slowly, carefully, I picked apart my own understanding of leadership. When I pieced it back together, yes it was strategy and execution, and yes it was tasks and people. Both distinctions still struck me as vital, practical, and supported by research. But I realized something else was needed to meet this moment. What my previous models lacked, and what every organization desperately needs, were two elements that are fundamental. I realized that answering the call of leadership in today's world requires a special emphasis on two timeless topics: love and truth.
Napili at night with bright moon, 2024. Photo credit: Chris McCusker
Leadership in Motion
As I reflected on my experiences in a variety of settings, from co-teaching leadership in elite business schools with CEOs to selling hotdogs on Bourbon Street, leadership at its best is rooted in love and truth. I call this approach Open Hearts Leadership (McCusker, 2025e).
Love and truth aren’t static virtues—they're active, alive, and continuously co-created through our interactions. Leadership isn’t about possessing these virtues; it’s about practicing them every single day, through every interaction. Love and truth are dynamic, verbs and gerunds in constant motion.
Manufacturing Love
Love in leadership isn't sentimental—it's practical, essential, and transformative. It follows a clear, sequential pattern, beginning always with Dignity. When leaders treat every person with inherent respect, dignity becomes the default, not something earned or conditional. It is the foundational recognition of worth.
From dignity flows Well-Being. Leaders who prioritize the emotional, mental, and physical health of their teams create an environment of genuine care. This investment signals loudly that people matter—not just as resources, but as human beings deserving of compassion and support.
The natural result, the capstone of this process, is Growth. A culture built on dignity and nurtured through well-being empowers individuals to reach further, take creative risks, and explore their fullest potential. Growth, then, isn't forced but organically emerges as the ultimate expression of organizational love.
Manufacturing Truth
Truth begins with Reality, facing facts exactly as they are—not as we wish them to be. Leaders who clearly acknowledge reality, especially when it's uncomfortable, earn credibility that's rare and precious.
From this baseline honesty, Vulnerability becomes not just possible but essential. Leaders who openly share their uncertainties, mistakes, and limitations invite trust. Vulnerability isn't weakness; it's the bravest form of leadership.
Finally, genuine vulnerability naturally leads to sustained Honesty. It creates a norm, a steadfast commitment to transparency in every communication. Truth thus becomes ingrained, an indispensable thread in the fabric of the organization.
The Dance of Co-Creation
Leadership is inherently social, never a solo endeavor. Love and truth, dignity and vulnerability, these aren't things a leader "does" alone—they are co-created, continuously evolving through mutual interactions, feedback, and shared experiences.
When a leader treats others with dignity, dignity spreads. When reality is collectively faced, vulnerability strengthens connections, and honesty flourishes. These processes aren't linear; they're recursive, reinforcing, and alive.
Ultimately, Open Hearts Leadership isn't a theory—it's a practice. It's love and truth in constant motion, creating a living, breathing organizational culture. And perhaps, more than any matrix tool could ever capture, that's what leadership truly is: a vibrant, shared dance that makes us all a little more human, a little more effective, and undeniably better together.
Maui at sunset, 2025. Photo credit: Chris McCusker
References
McCusker, C. (2025a, January). Open Hearts Leadership Method (Part 1): Diagnosis and the Leadership Challenge Matrix. Substack. Retrieved from https://substack.com
McCusker, C. (2025b, January). Open Hearts Leadership Method (Part 2): Prescription and the Leadership Styles Matrix. Substack. Retrieved from https://substack.com
McCusker, C. (2025c, January). Open Hearts Leadership Method (Part 3): Implementation and the Leadership Metaphor Matrix. Substack. Retrieved from https://substack.com
McCusker, C. (2025d, January). Open Hearts Leadership Method (Part 4): Evaluation and the Leadership Effectiveness Matrix. Substack. Retrieved from https://substack.com
McCusker, C. (2025e, January). An Introduction to the Open Hearts Leadership Method. Substack. Retrieved from https://substack.com
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect...and the eight other business delusions that deceive managers. Free Press.
Turknett, R. L., & Turknett, C. N. (2005). Decent people, decent company: How to lead with character at work and in life. Davies-Black Publishing.
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