Heros
Chris Lowney’s, Heroic Leadership is a values-based leadership model that originated in 1540 from a Catholic priest and now boasts over 21 thousand business professionals in the world’s largest religious order, the Jesuits.[1] The books main themes are “forging seamless multinational teams, motivating performance, being open to change, and staying adaptable.”[2] This book “focuses on who leaders are,” instead of what leaders do.[3] This post will leverage critical reviews on the book, integrate personal reflections on leadership, and connect the Jesuit model with my research problem on spiritual warfare.
First, I was inspired and humbled by the Jesuit’s historical past. They have not only advanced the Great Commission, but the amazing part is they have stayed together as a team for almost 500 years. They called themselves the “Company of Jesus.”[4] In the sixteenth century they were just a small group of Christ followers or companions, who formed companionships, and eventually began calling themselves a company, hence the Company of Jesus. The name stuck and today the Jesuit company is leading the world in evangelism, mission, exploration, education, social, scientific, and medical advances.[5] Until reviewing this work and reading around Lowney’s transition from Jesuit seminarian to J.P. Morgan broker I did not really know much about the Jesuit model. I have to say, I am impressed! For me, anyone who applies Christian value-based leadership into the marketplace deserves a Facebook thumbs-up. 
I began reading around Heroic Leadership to see what other peer-reviewed authors are saying about this old religious model that sprung from Catholic origins. I will start with the more negative reviews first.
Boers overall likes the Jesuit leadership approach, but suggests three areas in Lowney’s work that needs improvement. He says that Lowney does not identify where his four leadership principles come from, does not identify his intended audience, and offers excessive narrative in the Jesuit’s historical legacy.[6] Furthermore, Boers criticizes Lowney’s “attempt to secularize” the Jesuits through his stated goal of removing any religious references to Jesuit imagery, phrasing, and connections to the business place. Boer says that the Lowney leadership approach “belies much that drives the corporate world.”[7] Contrary or not, I think Boers is saying that the spiritual difference in leadership makes the difference and recommends that the author stay true to his Jesuit Christian roots and not try to secularize his narrative to make it fit worldly standards and expectations.
Second, my personal leadership reflections on this book narrowed from transformational, to situational, to servant leadership. I “grew up” under the transformational leadership model and can attest that it can be uses in both positive and negative applications. The most positive transformational leadership trait I found in the Jesuit model is the trait of love. Used 173 times in the book, it certainly appears that the Jesuits believe that Christian love is the transforming element that leaders need. Lowney encourages leaders to “be free to do whatever the situation calls for…to be flexible enough to give an order, take an order, or plot one’s own course.”[8] This is the situational method that I used during my leadership roles in public safety and military aviation. Finally, I searched and found examples of servant leadership imbedded inside the Jesuit model; a leadership approach that balances the needs of the people with the needs of the mission. Putting the needs of others above those of the leader fulfills my goal in servant leadership. Ordering my life through self-reflection and self -awareness are two of the values that Lowney says will help a leader.[9] It takes work, but I think it is well worth it to prayerfully reflect on both strengths and weaknesses. I do urge caution with too much self-reflection because I have experienced times when it turned into “all about me” instead of what I think “Heroic Leaders” do, which is make it “all about them.”[10]
Third, Lowney highlights the threat from spiritual warfare. He says that people ignore the reality of Satan and see him only in a “metaphorical status.” This is the section of the book I am drawn to because Lowney gives a historical glimpse of some of Loyola’s students who were given “hellfire-and-brimstone journey through the sights, sounds, and very whiff of hell.”[11] I am thinking about how to create a virtual reality (VR) simulation that could be added to an armor of God theology. I commend Lowney for “calling him out,” describing the devil’s schemes, and identifying him as the “enemy of our human nature” who does exist.
Finally, I am happy to find another leadership author how understands “when leadership is working, it hurts.”[12] Bowman agrees and calls the Jesuit model of servant leadership a paradox, where leaders knowingly sacrifice themselves to help promote others by removing obstacles, promoting talents, and helping people discover their interests and potential.[13] When leaders do this successfully the results not only energize and unite teams, but also earn loyalty and mutual support.[14] In conclusion, I like this book because it aligns with my leadership approach and supports my hypothesis that spiritual warfare continues despite being “psychologized” and explained away by the church.[15]
Stand firm,
M. Webb
[1] Jana Riess, Sarah F. Gold, Emily Chernoweth, and Jeff Zaleski. 2003. “HEROIC LEADERSHIP: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World (Book).” Publishers Weekly 250, no. 21: 65. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2017).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Arthur P. Boers. 2004. “God’s soldiers: adventure, politics, intrigue, and power–a history of the Jesuits.” The Christian Century 121, no. 21: 62. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2017).
[5] Ibid., 63.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Lowney, Heroic Leadership, 160.
[9] Ibid., 27.
[10] Ibid., 113.
[11] Ibid., 115.
[12] Chris Lowney. Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World. Kindle ed. (Chicago, IL: Loyola Press, 2003) 288.
[13] Richard F. Bowman. 2005. “Teacher as Servant Leader.” Clearing House 78, no. 6: 258. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2017).
[14] Lowney, Heroic Leadership, 170.
[15] Ibid., 117.
About the Author
Mike
7 responses to “Heros”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Mike,
Thanks for your reflections on this book. I too think that separating the principles from faith will not lead to the success that was seen in the examples Lowney gave. I like Lowneys approach of training leaders and giving them freedom to handle changing circumstances. I think we have both been in situations that we didn’t feel trained for but with the power of direction of God, we were able to handle it. I don’t think I would want a VR simulation of Hell, unfortunately it might sell during the rush to Halloween and the horror movies that come out at that time? I am kidding. There are many games that have to do with battles and armor, so depending on the quality and creativity of the coder, it could be good to create some that has clean fun as well as teaching solid principles.
Thanks, Mike. I hear what you are saying particularly about self-reflection turning into self-absorbtion. But in my experience, Christians who are always serving others and staying busy and not taking care of themselves are some of the most UNself-aware people I know. And despite their commitment to tireless service, they end up either having a Messiah complex (the indispensible person) or being narcissistic. To me, this is one of the classic schemes of the enemy, taking a godly concept (ie Servant leadership) and twisting it just enough to put people back into slavery. Thoughts?
Mike,
First let me say your focus is pinpoint and laser like. Second I love how you end every post or comment with “Stand Firm”. Now your take on Lowney’s book naturally falls in line with your style of leadership. Your attention to spiritual warfare and Lowney’s discussion of how it can affect your leadership style seem to go hand in hand. I agree with your assessment that our leadership needs to be devoid of what is in it for me and needs to fulfill our goal of pouring into others.
I’m glad you ‘liked’ the book, but what if you didn’t? Would you still find threads within the Jesuit movement as described by Lowney that connected with your own leadership calling and spiritual direction? Oftentimes I think that many in the Protestant movement, especially conservative veins, dismiss most of Catholicism and the practices found there because of perceived inconsistencies. It doesn’t appear that you harbor those characteristics, at least not in regard to this book. Why do you think that is the case?
Hi Mike,
Do the Jesuits refer to themselves as “business professionals’ or are they just a society? Your post made me think to myself about whether it was the author of our book who simply stated this was a business entity.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book, especially for the four traits of a quality Jesuit leader. I just don’t know if the author made a big stretch to connect the Jesuits to leadership principles. What do you think?
Mike,
Your ending comment about spiritual warfare being explained away from the church is spot on. Even pastoral counseling has shifted from spiritual guidance to sharing of self-help.
You mention some models of leadership that I am not familiar with. At least I’m not familiar with the term. I am familiar with them as traits but not as entire models. Do you have anything to point to show me the model of transformational and situation leadership?
Mike, you quote Lowney for saying, “He says that people ignore the reality of Satan and see him only in a “metaphorical status.” Do you agree with him? If so, how have you seen this to be true in your context?
Also, I am curious about the virtual reality of the armor of God. That sounds interesting and adaptable to younger generations.