đź“– Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney
450-year-old Jesuit principles applied to modern leadership: self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism. Features the Examen practice for sustainable leadership rhythms through structured reflection cycles.
Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World
This is one of my foundational books on leadership for me. Chris Lowney takes the principles and practices of the Jesuit Order (450-year-old company) and applies it to modern day leadership.
The key idea is that leadership is “a way of living” developed by knowing themselves (self-awareness), innovating to embracing the changing world (ingenuity), by loving self and others (love), and by aiming high (heroism).
I have adopted and adapted some of the principles and pillars to build and strengthen my leadership. This was the seed that created the RFP Framework (Rhythm, Focus and Practice). The Examen practice that is shared in the book is deeply integrated into my life.
The Four Key Principles
- We’re all leaders, we’re leading all the time, well or poorly.
- Leadership springs from within. It’s about who I am as much as what I do.
- Leadership is not an act. It is my life, a way of living.
- I never complete the task of becoming a leader. It’s an ongoing process.
The Four Pillars of Leadership:
- SELF-AWARENESS - “Leaders thrive by understanding who they are and what they value, by becoming aware of unhealthy blind spots or weaknesses that can derail them, and by cultivating the habit of continuous self-reflection and learning.”
- INGENUITY - “Leaders make themselves and others comfortable in a chaning world. They eagerly explore new ideas, approaches, and cultures rather than shrink defensively from what lurks around life’s next corner. Anchored by non-negotiable principles and values, they cultivate the “indifference” that allows them to adapt confidently.”
- LOVE - “Leaders face the world with confident, healthy sense of themselves as endowed with talent, dignity, and the potential to lead. They find exactly these same attributes in others and passionately commit to honoring and unlocking the potential they find in themselves and in others. They create environments bound and energized by loyalty, affection, and mutual support.”
- HEROISM - “Leaders imagine an inspiring future and strive to shape it rather than passively watching the future happen around them. Heroes extract gold from the opportunities at hand rather than waiting for golden opportunities to be handed to them.”
Reflection & Response: The Examen
The Examen has been a key actionable insight that has become an integral part of my Rhythm of Life comes. Everything I do stems from this foundational rhythm and practice.
The Examen Rhythm and Practice:
- Daily Examen - Morning and Evening (30 Minutes each)
- Every morning, Sam works through checklist to choose the intention and focused action for the day. The checklist includes walking, writing and drinking water.
- Every evening, Sam works through another checklist focused on Review, Reflect and Response.
- Weekly Examen - Review and Review (1 Hour)
- Every Sunday night, Sam works through a weekly review and preview process. It is modeled after David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) Methodology. The focus is on alignment.
- Monthly Examen - Half Day Examen (4 Hours)
- Every last Friday of every month, Sam works through a Monthly Examen process. It includes a monthly review and preview with a focus on “Course Correction”.
- Quarterly Examen - Full Day Examen (8 Hours)
- Every last Friday of every quarter, Sam works through a Quarterly Examen process. It includes a quarterly review and preview, a revisit and updating the years “Field Guide” with a focus on the long view (1 year out).
- Yearly Examen Retreat - An overnight Silence and Solitude
- At the start of every December, Sam begins his “Envisioning” process that includes a month-long “Remember the Future” practice in which he reviews, reflect and respond to every journal from the year. This all leads to an overnight retreat where he will choose the One Word Focus and create a “Field Guide” for the following year.
Favorite Quotes
“Work as if success depended on your own efforts - but trust as if all depended on God.” Jesuit Maxim attributed to Ignatius Loyola (Founder of Jesuits Order)
“Leadership is defined not by the scale of the opportunity but by the quality of the response.”
“Instead of rehashing well-worn tactical list of what leaders do, the Jesuit approach focus on who leaders are.”
“All leadership begins with self-leadership, and self-leadership begins with knowing oneself.”
“(Jesuits) rarely if ever used the word leadership as management consultants might employ that term today. Instead of talking about leadership, they lived it.”
“One cannot control all of one’s circumstances, only one’s response to those circumstances.”
“A leader’s greatest power is his or her personal vision, communicated by the example of his or her daily life.”
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