Chris Lowney on being a leader

I have to admit, walking into Chris Lowney’s speech I did not have high expectations. All I was expecting was a lecture on business, a topic in which I held little or no interest. “I want you all to take a moment and think of two current leaders and what you think makes them leaders”, Mr. Lowney asked the audience. I immediately thought of two people: my father and the President. After giving the audience a moment to think, he asked a question that surprised me. “Did any of you say you were a leader?” The sea of hands stayed politely on the laps of their possessors.

Chris Lowney went on to explain that in order to succeed in life, we all need to be leaders. He demonstrated that being a leader did not merely mean ones status, but the role model you are, how you view yourself, and how you treat others. To better explain what it meant to be a leader, Mr. Lowney described the three dimensions necessary to be a leader. A leader must have a vision, they must help people to agree with that vision, and they must help this group of people overcome problems along the way. Listening to his description of what it takes to be a leader, I was intrigued as to how he was going to make a connection with a Jesuit education. I knew that Jesuits concentrated on helping others, and being self aware but I was unaware of how receiving a Jesuit education could help me to become a greater leader.

By taking advantage of our Jesuit education, and being leaders our world, whether our world is our school, our neighborhood, our state, or our country, we can truly make a difference. Mr. Lowney stressed that self awareness is an important quality to being a leader. You must be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. A Jesuit education brings you closer to self awareness by challenging you to ask yourself who you are, and who you want to be. The year of the city is not merely designed to make us more aware of our surroundings, and of the city of Baltimore, but to encourage students to look at themselves in relation to these surroundings, and ask questions as to why things are the way to are. He went on to explain that an important part of being a leader is being able to deal with reality, while hanging on to your vision. I immediately thought of Whale Rider. In Whale Rider, Koro, while a good leader, struggled in dealing with reality. It is important for a leader to understand the situation, but not allow it to discourage them from their vision.

Mr. Lowney also stressed that to be an important leader, one must have heroism and love. When thinking of being a leader, I had never thought to include his definition of heroism and love. He explained that by heroism, he did not necessarily mean rescuing a damsel in distress, but that one must have ambition and passion. One must use love by treating people with respect. He quoted an army general by saying “You must love those you lead before you can be a leader”. Of everything Mr. Lowney discussed, I will keep this quote with me for years to come. Leading isn’t about power or status, it is about loving the people you are leading, and reaching for the goal you are trying to achieve. Mr. Lowney then shared a statement that in a moment has completely changed my view on education as a whole. Taking a moment, Mr. Lowney felt it was necessary to open our minds to the fact that in other countries receiving an education was not a luxury that is easily accessible. In locations such as Salvador, there is little or no education, let alone higher education in colleges. He urged us to keep this in mind, and not take for granted the amazing opportunity we have been given. While I had always known that college and education was not as easily accessible in other countries, I had never thought to connect this with being a leader. After thinking about this, I have become even more determined to take full advantage of the amazing opportunity all of us at Loyola have been given. I want to learn as much as I can, and make a difference in the world.

Everyone can be a leader. We are all leaders. We cannot look at the problems in the world an expect others to change them. We need to recognize that we are in fact the ones who need to step up and work for a better world. As Mr. Lowney explained, “We need to create environments of greater love than fear”.