I Need A Hero
Chris Lowney’s book, Heroic Leadership, is a unique examination of the relevance of the values and practices of leadership among the sixteenth century Jesuit movement, for our time. Leadership books for both corporate and church leaders are legion in our information age, but most of them merely scratch the surface of the practice of leadership, offering canned advice in a one-size-fits-all model for any organization. These types of books ought to be read with a level of suspicion. But Lowney’s book offers the deep wisdom of a tradition whose values and practices, consistent with one another, cut across time and space. It’s a look at how the sixteenth century Jesuits, led by Ignatius of Loyola, have something to teach us about leadership in today’s world. The four main characteristics that the Jesuits bestowed, and which we would be wise to emulate, are self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism. Instead of focusing on aspect of the book for this post, I will briefly touch on each.
Self-awareness, a practice I believe has forever been ignored in this country, is the foundation to good leadership. The good news, as Lowney points out, is that this is something that can be cultivated in all. By engaging in spiritual exercises (e.g. the Daily Examen), we intentionally begin to understand ourselves and our lives better and, in so doing, grow in our ability to understand our weaknesses, develop an integrated worldview and increase our respect for people and creation. Self-awareness takes courage. This practice reminds me of Calvin’s claim that the sum of all wisdom is the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self.[1]
Our leadership body at John Knox Church consists of 14 people: 12 elders and 2 pastors. When I arrived here 4+ years ago, the church’s leadership was dysfunctional in many ways. There were power brokers making decisions behind closed doors, there were factions between people whose ministries became competitive with one another, there were old wounds from a previous administration being projected on new leaders, and the like. My first two years here included an extensive amount of work in the area of both corporate and individual self-awareness. Communities as well as individuals need to do this work. We practiced healing conversations together that brought self-awareness, and we still currently practice the Examen together at the beginning of each month’s leadership meeting. The culture has changed drastically, and much of it is owed to intention practice of self-awareness.
The Jesuits, unlike many other Christians, did a remarkable job of adapting to the new cultures where they landed. This ingenuity allowed them to convey their message in a much more effective manner. Because they understood their core beliefs so well (due to being shaped by their spiritual exercises) they knew what they could adapt and what they could not. Furthermore, rather than having to wait for an “ok” from headquarters, they were able to be more nimble when the situation dictated.
Though perhaps often overlooked, love is also a key part of good leadership. Lowney suggested that he struggled to use this word because of it’s sentimental connotations. He adapted other Jesuit language to contemporize his advice, but he decided to use the word “love” because it still carries the meaning of what is needed. Primarily, we see this in the way that the Jesuits took very seriously the notion that an important aspect of their call as leaders is to support, encourage and equip those with whom they are working. Therefore, they worked on having vision to see other’s talents and abilities, the commitment to unlock that potential and a conviction to energize and unite teams. This love also helps to ensure that the leader is not simply focused on his or her own ego and betterment.
Finally, heroism is a key component of leadership. This is another word that carries many connotations, and in today’s world, they are largely negative, unless referring to an actual hero, like a fireman. The negative connotation involves a sense leadership stardom that especially churches have been trying to get away from for the last twenty years. But Lowney understands that a good leader, as hero, needs to be uneasy with the status quo and be convinced that he or she is called to a greater goal to make an impact in the world. Magis (the restless drive to look for something more in every opportunity and the confidence that one will find it) was the Jesuits motto. Heroism is finding out what the needs are and not relenting, no matter how difficult it gets at times (and it will always get difficult at times).
What was most striking to me was the connection between knowing one’s core values and one’s ability to adapt well to the culture. It builds off this notion that true creativity does not occur best when there are no boundaries, but when boundaries are defined and yet freedom is given to roam courageously within those boundaries. One of the things that I have learned (and continue to learn) in the last two years is that as leaders we need to be able to set the values and priorities while at the same time then giving permission (and encouragement) for people to dream and create within those values. I find that churches (and their leaders) find this tension difficult to hold and yet it seems to be the key to continually breathing new life into our communities while staying focused and moving forward.
[1] Jean Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, ©2008), 1.
About the Author
Chris Pritchett
5 responses to “I Need A Hero”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Great post Chris! I definitely resonated with your statement, “Self-awareness, a practice I believe has forever been ignored in this country, is the foundation to good leadership.” I wrote about this as well in my blog and I help people every day try to increase their self-awareness in order to live a more fulfilled life. I’m curious how you have been “able to set the values and priorities while at the same time then giving permission (and encouragement) for people to dream and create within those values.”?
Thanks for asking Jake! One example involves the work of our “Serve Team.” This team was formed by the leadership to facilitate engagement between our congregation and the under-served population in our community. Instead of just putting together a program, they spent a year listening to the people of the community and the sharing of their needs, listening to the members of the congregation to hear of their vocations and passions, and listening to agencies in our community that are serving under-served peoples. Lots of conversations and dreaming and experimenting, all of which has resulted in a multi-faceted engagement particularly around supporting at-risk kids in whatever way, to help them receive a good education. So, we’ve partnered with an under-resourced public school, another local church’s after school program, a homeless agency, and a few other things that have enabled us, through imaginative visioning, to use the passions and vocations of a majority of our people to serve the needs of the community. It’s not all totally neat and clean, not a nicely packaged program, but more imaginative and exciting to me. Thank you for asking brother!
Chris,
I love hearing about how your programming flows out of corporate discernment and listening, and that it isn’t just the “leader” who drives forward an agenda for everyone to follow. Perhaps this is where we’ve gone wrong in our celebrity-driven culture. We stop thinking ourselves and let others drive forward agendas that we have not critically examined ourselves.
Your use of the Examen as a leadership team is fascinating, particularly when you entered into a toxic environment. Have you had experiences where your corporate use of the Examen has led to healing of relationships?
You seem to have captured some key elements of this book and used it to filter your own context. If given the opportunity, how would you use this book with your leadership and if you did how do you think they would respond?
Also, how do you strike the balance between establishing the values and priorities for a community and be free enough to allow other ‘leaders’ (the Jesuits believed all were leaders) to find their own way? Do you think our polity inhibits that in any way or is the polity a strength that allows members to live out their faith more freely?
Hi Chris,
That a great statement you wrote, “Self-awareness, a practice I believe has forever been ignored in this country, is the foundation to good leadership.” This tenant is the one that I also spent the most time contemplating, and I agree with you, it is THE foundation to good leadership.
Unfortunately, I have not been the best at self-reflection. It sounds like you are better at this. Maybe someday you could tell me how you do this?
Well written my Brother.