Chris Lowney

It would be a lie to say I hold high expectations for myself. I don’t mean to be a cynic, and I have always considered myself an optimist. However, despite this, I realize that I often let my doubts get the best of me. Chris Lowney’s speech on Monday January 29th helped me realize that having potential comes in numerous forms.
I often feel that success is a gift that people have received from an early age. I still remember those who first learned how to read, those who were the best in math, and those who got into the best universities. These were the people I considered as leaders. Chris Lowney re-defined the idea of leadership in our current society. Mr. Lowney first brought up heroism and what attributes we identify it with. Immediately one may think of Superman, Batman, or any other fictional super human “man”. However, if one looks close enough it is easy to see everyone has heroic qualities in them. One can become a hero if they have self-awareness. All Jesuits have a month long training period where all they do is reflect on their religious vocation. They reflect on who they are and their own purposes. In order to acquire a higher sense of self Jesuits learn little mechanisms to help examine themselves. An example is, when getting up in the morning, asking yourself why you are grateful and what do you want to work on in that day. Doing these exercises a few times a day will allow people to center themselves and create a better self-awareness. I have heard mechanisms like this before, and at first I was not impressed. Yes having a “sense of self” is important but what are the literal gains from living such an ascetic life style? What interested me was how Mr. Lowney explained how at his company, JP Morgan, many young aspiring men and women come in with excellent grades but, because they have little self assesment, fail to keep their jobs. This notion again did not surprise me. I have always been told there are two kinds of intelligence, the street smarts’ and the book smarts’. What caught my attention was that there was a study with many important CEO’s took part in. The result showed that those who had gone through major tragedies earlier in their lives had a better sense of self and ultimately were able to rise above their peers.
Chris Lowney then described how love should manifest itself in deeds. For example, if the chief executives of Enron really loved their coworkers they would not have ruined the company. The Jesuits use the term “company” to define the people they break bread with. That same idea should be with our modern use of the word company. The best teams are based on trust, and from trust love follows. Chris then explained how important it is to be invested in what you do. Teachers or leaders who are passionate about what they do result in their students possessing a similar fervor. This idea is very relatable to me because I came from a high school where my teachers knew me by my student id number. I had over 4,000 kids in my school and once the teachers got their ten-year they couldn’t care less about the individual students. I could not name many teachers in my life that I consider to be ro-models. And because of this I cannot consider them leaders despite the fact they had power over me. This is one of the compelling reasons I chose to come to Loyola. I felt that I deserved positive influences in my life.
I never realized how much goes into become a Jesuit. I have a newfound respect for them and realize how positive they wish to impact others. I have always assumed that the people who were destined for success and leadership already knew they were special. I assumed that those same kids from elementary school would be leading me later in life. However I feel a new sense of worth. I do feel that I have more possibility than I previously thought. I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Lowney’s speech and really took his words into my daily life.