Leadership

Loyola’s Green and Grey Society recently sponsored the second annual Jesuit Identity Week. From January 21-29, many events were held with the intention of highlighting the Jesuit Community at Loyola College. I chose to attend the week’s final event, a talk from author Chris Lowney in McGuire Hall. He was given a rather lengthy introduction citing a myriad of credentials, including an executive position at J.P Morgan, Jesuit training, popular author, and world traveler active in spreading HIV awareness.
It was a fairly intimate gathering, and I was impressed that Mr. Lowney took it upon himself to meet the students in attendance and inquire why they were there. He was extremely polite and eloquent, even more so when he began his lecture.
The focus of Mr. Lowney’s talk was on the qualities of leadership and how they apply to our own Jesuit education at Loyola. He made excellent points about how leadership should be defined by much more than status and power. While status gives us the opportunity to exercise leadership, leadership does not equal status. In order to lead, one must love those they lead and want to motivate them in many ways.
He broke down the definition of leadership into four main qualities and tied them into one of the Jesuits’ slogans—roughly translated ‘as many as possible and the very best.’ To lead well, we must possess a good sense of self, or self-awareness. By knowing our strengths and weaknesses, we can improve our knowledge of what we are capable of. Ingenuity, the second principle of leadership, is important in our adaptation to an ever-changing world. Because we are part of such a rapidly developing society, we have to learn to change with the world.
Mr. Lowney put strong emphasis on the last two qualities of leadership: heroism and love. Heroism requires a great deal of ambition and passion. A good leader can be in control their behavior and how they react to certain opportunities, while understanding that those opportunities may be small and won slowly over a lifetime rather than all at once. When he talked about the importance of dealing with problems rationally while still hanging onto the creative vision, it reminded me a lot of our discussions about the balance between reality and fantasy in Whale Rider. We can find strength and passion in one realm and apply it to the other in order to succeed. Lowney also discussed how a company or a team thrives when they get over themselves—forget the ‘I’—and give a piece of themselves for a greater purpose. In Jesuit training, participants go through long periods of reflection in which they remind themselves of what they are grateful for and what they need to work on in the future. He suggested that we practice this simple exercise as well because it is an excellent mentality to have.
Love, it seems to me, is the most important characteristic in a true leader. One should manifest love in actions, not just words, and treat people with the utmost respect. Those being led perform much better when they feel safe, valuable, and that they can trust whomever is in charge. An example of this love is the Jesuit style of education, in which the teachers care about educating the whole person. Students are not just a number or statistic; they are crucial elements in the system and when they love and respect the teacher, they in turn are able to love their teachings.
The lecture concluded with Lowney’s request, or challenge, for our generation to learn, lead, and serve. He encouraged us to always think of ourselves as leaders and keep in mind what kind statement we want to make with our lives. Mr. Lowney gave us great insight into something we thought we already knew about; he now has us thinking about leadership in an entirely different light.