{"id":9854,"date":"2016-10-27T08:54:54","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T15:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=9854"},"modified":"2016-10-27T08:54:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T15:54:54","slug":"character-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/character-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Character Matters!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I concur with Chris Lowney about the volume of leadership books on the shelves of bookstores. About a week ago I stopped into one of the small airport bookstores just to take a look at the number of books on leadership. I counted no less than 50 titles on the top-seller list! There is no question that there is an overabundance of leadership material. It is in this context that Heroic Leadership<\/em> addresses an important issue. Why in the midst of all of this available leadership material is there still a vacuum of good leaders?<\/p>\n

Lowney addresses the problem by introducing us to the Society of Jesus\u2014the Jesuits\u2014and their leadership practices. Lowney states that the heart of Jesuit leadership principles is \u201cwhole-person leadership,\u201d that is the belief that \u201cleadership begins with self-leadership.\u201d (L. 80) In other words, the measure of a leader is not the appearance of success in public life, but also in who the leader is as a person. Character does matter!<\/p>\n

It is on this foundation that Jesuit leadership places its four unique leadership characteristics. They are: (1) \u201cWe are all leaders, and we are leading all the time, well or poorly;\u201d (2) \u201cLeadership springs from within. It\u2019s about who I am as much as what I do.\u201d (3) \u201cLeadership is not an act. It is my life, a way of living.\u201d (4) \u201cI never complete the task of becoming a leader. It\u2019s an ongoing process.\u201d What makes the Jesuit principles of leadership effective and unique is that the principles address \u201cone\u2019s whole life and not merely one\u2019s work life.\u201d (L.40)<\/p>\n

In this context, good and successful leadership is measured qualitatively and not quantitatively. Character development becomes a goal and not financial acquisition alone. This character development then naturally influences others with whom we work, serve and come in contact, and we become leaders without the title of “leader.” What a powerful and freeing premise!<\/p>\n

Lowney highlights four pillars that serve as a guide to character development and ultimately successful leadership. They are, (1) Self-awareness; (2) Ingenuity; (3) Love; and finally (4) Heroism. It is from this fourth principle that the book gets its name. (L. 81) The idea of whole-person leadership in which character is a defining trait is at once intriguing and deeply satisfying.<\/p>\n

The idea of “whole-person leadership” in which character is a defining trait is at once intriguing and deeply satisfying. Of the four pillars, numbers two and four lead me to say: if leadership is who I am\u2014not merely an act but a way of living, then many, many, many leaders are not leaders at all! Here is the background for this statement.<\/p>\n

I attended a conference for which the topic was healthy leaders. At one point the psychologist began to describe the traits of a person has a narcissistic personality disorder. She went on the explain the challenges they cause to their family, friends and their relationships. I remember her saying that this person, outside of a miracle, can never change because they can never imagine that they need help, that they are wrong or that they are the cause of the problem. She said, a true narcissist seldom if ever feels remorse! She continued. Interestingly enough, because they often have charismatic personalities, they are the very ones promoted to positions of leadership! Is was as if the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head. I immediately recognized this person in examples of leaders in politics, business and yes the church. I remembered the pain they caused, without remorse\u2014sometimes in the name of God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The majority of leadership material I’ve read deals with the external issues and the steps a leader takes to address them. Very seldom does a book on leadership speak to me as a person and a leader so clearly as did Heroic Leadership<\/em>. If we go right to the heart of great leadership, a person’s character does matter. What is missing in many leadership books is the issue of character and the question of success. Both are addressed in Heroic Leadership<\/em> in this way; character is important, and success is more about character development than it is money. Ultimately, the truly heroic part is not so much in \u201cenergizing ourselves and others through heroic ambitions,\u201d but in facing ourselves, and then asking the Holy Spirit to begin the leadership process in us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I concur with Chris Lowney about the volume of leadership books on the shelves of bookstores. About a week ago I stopped into one of the small airport bookstores just to take a look at the number of books on leadership. I counted no less than 50 titles on the top-seller list! There is no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[933],"class_list":["post-9854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lowney","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}