Liderazgo al estilo de los Jesuitas: Las Mejores Prácticas De Una Compañía De 450 Años Que Cambió El Mundo

by Chris Lowney

El Liderazgo al estilo de los jesuitas, marcó un hito y fue un éxito de ventas número 1 en el ranking de la CBPA. Fue nombrado finalista como libro del año de la Revista Prólogo y ha sido traducido a once idiomas. Se utiliza ampliamente en las empresas y organizaciones de caridad, y se ha convertido en un elemento básico de los planes de estudio de escuelas de negocios y universidades. Este libro desafía nuestras suposiciones y estereotipos sobre el liderazgo, y nos invita a abrazar nuestra propia oportunidad de liderazgo y responsabilidad.
Los antecedentes Chris Lowney como seminarista jesuita, el cual más tarde se desempeñó como director general de JP Morgan & Co, dejan huellas en el libro una nueva visión refrescante sobre cómo los líderes se forman y cómo viven. Específicamente se articulan cuatro pilares para lograr un gran liderazgo: los líderes son la auto-conciencia, son heroicos, son ingenioso, y también amorosos. Se conocen a sí mismos profundamente, viven para adaptarse con seguridad a un mundo que cambia rápidamente, y respetar la dignidad y el potencial de los que les rodean. Chris ilustra estos cuatro pilares a través de fascinantes viñetas de la historia de una compañía de 450 años que cambió el mundo: los jesuitas.

El autor
Chris Lowney preside la junta directiva de CatholicHealthInitiatives, uno de los sistemas de cuidado de la salud más grandes de los Estados Unidos. Tras una experiencia como seminarista jesuita, se desempeñó como director general de JP Morgan & Co. en Nueva York, Tokio, Singapur y Londres, hasta dejar la firma en 2001. Graduado con honores en la Universidad de Fordham, donde también recibió su MA, es además titular de cinco doctorados honoris causa.
Es autor de cuatro libros, incluidos bestsellers, y entre ellos uno dedicado al Papa Francisco, en los que conjugó sus experiencias en el mundo de los negocios y en el plano de la acción solidaria: como fundador de Commons, una organización jesuita innovadora que ofrece educación universitaria en línea en campos de refugiados de África y en otros lugares del mundo, y de Peregrinación por el futuro de nuestros niños, una entidad que financia proyectos de educación y de salud en el mundo en desarrollo.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Religion, History, Christian, Self Help

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2003

About the author

Chris Lowney chairs the board of Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation’s largest healthcare/hospital systems with some $ 19 billion in assets. He is a one-time Jesuit seminarian who later served as a Managing Director of J.P. Morgan & Co in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London until leaving the firm in 2001. He is a popular keynote speaker who has lectured in more than two-dozen countries on on leadership, business ethics, decision-making and other topics.

He is the author of four books. Heroic Leadership, a # 1 ranked bestseller of the CBPA, was named a finalist for a 2003 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord magazine, has been translated into eleven languages, and was named to the Commandant of the Marine Corps recommending reading list. He is also author of Heroic Living, and A Vanished World– Chris was featured in the PBS-aired documentary, “Cities of Light,” which echoed many of that book’s key themes. His latest work, Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads, has been called, “an invaluable gift,” and “a book for the ages.”

He served as volunteer founding president of Jesuit Commons, an innovative collaboration which offers online university education in refugee camps in Africa and elsewhere. He conceived and co-founded Contemplative Leaders in Action, an emerging leader formation program now active in a half-dozen cities. He founded Pilgrimage for Our Children’s Future, which funds education and healthcare projects in the developing world: to learn about or support that organization, visit www.pocf.org.

He is a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University, where he also received his M.A. He is holder of five honorary Doctoral degrees.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I ever would have read this if not for the extraordinarily enthusiastic reviews from a couple of people I really respect. At first glance, the book appears to be largely about two things that are not, and have never really been, part of my experience: the Jesuits and leadership in the private sector. But before I'd gotten too far into the book, I discovered that the Jesuits are fascinating and, although the principles that Lowney endorses may well be as helpful in the business world as he and his own experience suggest, they certainly look useful to me.

On the first point, the Jesuits have some amazing stories. He could have taken the stories and put them in a separate book, with no overarching message, and it would have been a great book.

On the second, Lowney makes a strong case for the four undergirding principles of Jesuit belief and practice and why adherence to them made the Jesuits so fabulously successful. (He points out helpfully why some of the Jesuits' biggest failures resulted from straying from those principles.) He argues persuasively for the importance of...
- self-awareness (particularly in identifying one's values and weaknesses and taking the time - three times a day, if possible - to reflect on how one's behavior that day has conformed to one's values and has, or has not, dealt with one's weaknesses)
- innovativeness (particularly in cultivating a sort of "indifference" or detachment from one's current state that will allow one to adapt to change)
- love (seeing the potential in others and working to help them realize it in an atmosphere of trust and affection)
- heroism (having big, big goals and the audacity to pursue them with perseverance)

I'm convinced enough to try to put them in action.

[Lori]

Once you get past the first few chapters, this book spends a lot of time on Jesuit history to illustrate the points and build understanding into the how behind Heroic Leadership. If you find the historical components interesting, as I do having worked at Jesuit colleges for going on 5 years, the book proves to be intriguing, albeit a bit dense. If not, there are many parts that could be skipped over to try and absorb many of the great "ah-ha" moments and paragraphs that hold key insights to Lowney's leadership theory.

Overall, worth the read but be prepared to motivate yourself to get through it.

[Alberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro explora los principios de liderazgo que han permitido a los Jesuitas prosperar durante más de 450 años. Los Jesuitas desarrollan un enfoque de liderazgo basado en cuatro pilares clave: autoconocimiento, ingenio, amor y heroísmo.
Me ha parecido un libro interesante, pero al que le sobran páginas. Al final se repiten continuamente las ideas principales.
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This book explores the leadership principles that have enabled the Jesuits to thrive for over 450 years. Jesuits developed a leadership approach based on four key pillars: self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism.
I found the book interesting, but it has too many pages. In the end, the main ideas are repeated continuously.

[Cow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very powerful look at the early history of the Jesuit order, and how their unique devotion to self-awareness, ingenuity, and love combined to make them natural leaders--from the top of the order down. It's written by a man who spent six years in Jesuit formation before leaving to become an investment banker at J. P. Morgan; he sees the good and the bad in this, and his analysis is fascinating.

The good: I found more than a few very piercing, deep insights in this book. I found myself quoting bits at people, even in discussions with Jesuit priests; and every one of them I've talked to is very familiar with the book.

It's aimed at an audience that isn't necessarily interested in the Jesuits, or the Church, or anything like that. It's simply meaning to pull the lessons of the great leaders of the Jesuits and apply them to the modern corporate world. But you can't talk about them without talking about the amazing stories and lives that so many of them led, from the only Westerner to be made a first-rank mandarin in Ming Dynasty China, to a group who tried to free the indigenous slaves in colonial Paraguay (and the mess they made as a result).

The bad: Wow does it get repetitive. Especially the bits at the end of each chapter; you can almost sense the PowerPoint slides being made to give the lecture, attempting to hammer the point home again and again. About a third of this book can be skipped, assuming you paid attention the first time you read it. This might have annoyed me more than it should.

Finally, one question that never gets answered--and maybe isn't the point, but which I'd really like to know in order to apply to the rest of the text--is why Mr Lowney left. What biases and animosities does he hold? What colours his point of view--good or bad--from his time there?

In the end, this is another of those books where, if the summary sounds interesting, I think you should read it. It's written well enough (although feel free to skim any time the repetition kicks in) and it is full of great stories and insights.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended on son rise morning show. Includes many interesting insights on leadership from the perspective of a former Jesuit novice who now works in the corporate world. Really a great read for anyone. The principles addressed in this book could be applied to everyday life. Thanks to Fr. James Martin, I'm a bit familiar with the Jesuits, but this author introduced me to some new-to-me Jesuit history. Amazing stories of tremendous faith, really great examples of the principles he's describing. And the author does a terrific job of making these historical figures and their problems relevant to modern readers. I learned a ton about myself, I've been inspired to research the Spiritual Exercises, and I have more confidence in my leadership abilities, really glad I heard about this one. Will definitely recommend to friends.

[Fernando Javier Castillo]

Normalmente dentro de mis lecturas no hay libros sobre el liderazgo debido a que me he vuelto reacio debido a todos los clichés que se han formado alrededor de esa palabra, pero este libro me ha ayudado a tangibilizar muchos pensamientos sobre mi experiencia liderando equipos, trabajando en equipo y siendo liderado.

Algo que se me va a quedar por mucho tiempo en la cabeza es que uno al entrar a una organización puede llegarse a perder en una cultura que hace desvanecer tu visión única, tus valores personales y que para evitar que eso hace hay que mantener la reflexión sobre el ambiente donde nos encontramos, con quien interactuamos y el por qué de nuestras acciones más relevantes.

[Łukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In fact, one of the best books about jesuits spirituality.

[Mackenzie Sykora · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informational and taught me new things about leading

[Pawel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read! Interesting lead concept(s) around leadership coming from how one is conducting oneself. The examples illustrating the points are helpful, but somewhat lengthy, especially towards the end of the book. The summary / conclusion in the end is a nice wrap up and repetition of main ideas of the book.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It was not only lessons on leadership from a Jesuit point of view - it also gave a really interesting history of the Jesuits with several fascinating stories sprinkled in. Highly recommend!

[Angelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World de Chris Lowney.

Leí este libro porque quiero expandir mis gustos literarios.


Ja. Mejor dicho, lectura obligatoria para la universidad, me obligue a leerlo, y señor Lowney escribir esporádicamente la palabra "liderazgo" no lo hace de ninguna forma un libro sobre el tema en cuestión, sin embargo "A+" por repetir lo mismo una y otra vez de diferentes maneras.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down the best leadership book I have ever read. I encourage you to see past the organization and focus on the discipline of leadership outlined the book.

[Francisco Mello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auto-conhecimento, engenho, amor e o heroísmo.

[Tim Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a skeptic of nearly all in the leadership genre of books, so was not expecting much from this one. It delivered to my expectations. Mr. Lowney reviews the 45-year history of the Jesuits and tries to draw leadership lessons from that history--especially its first generation.

It has some redeeming qualities and the best of those is the very interesting biographical sketches of many of the early Jesuits. These he wrote well, with real admiration that easily transfers to the reader. Also, his reference to the Jesuits as a "company" is off-putting (and added to my skepticism), but the author ably defends his choice of that wording.

Against those positives is the usual weaknesses of the genre--an author goes into a book with an idea of what traits make up a good leader, then chooses the set of historical / current / reviewed company / or other data to show that, sure enough, what he deems to be good leadership is good leadership. Having read broadly in the genre, it's all quite tiring to me.

This effort gave Lowney a significant opportunity to explore how followers of Jesus become leaders and the link between God's sovereignty and those who emerge to lead His church. He completely whiffed on that opportunity. There is no link whatsoever in the book to God, to Jesus whom the Jesuits serve or really to their faith at all, just the same old tired formulas for creating and growing a massive and successful organization.

As I read through the genre, I've developed the habit of comparing what I'm reading to those very significant people who emerged as leaders in God's kingdom: Abraham who was just hanging around in Ur; Moses who was an 80 year-old outcast; Gideon the reluctant; the timid Saul; David, the youngest of seven who spent his formative years with the flock; Jeremiah, hired by God to be a failure; Amos, the shepherd from Tekoa ("what am I doing here?); all twelve of the apostles, etc., etc. These, who would play very significant roles in the advancement of God's kingdom, never read any books on leadership, went to conferences, or had internships or mentoring by the great and good. Probably none of them would have been anywhere in the top 50% of candidates.

There is, it seems to me, a very significant gap between how we think about developing leaders and how God chooses them; there is a similar gap between the characteristics we look for in leaders and the characteristics God seeks. I'd love to see someone, with no agenda or pre-ordained conclusions, take a deep look from Scripture at how God chooses leaders. We have a lot to learn. Probably the first lesson is stop listening to what the world admires in leaders.

[Julie Nanavati · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explores what we can learn from the Jesuits when building leadership skills. Author, Chris Lowney, focusses on four Jesuit principles that may seem counterintuitive to more contemporary leadership approaches, and skillfully demonstrates how these four can be used to develop as a strong leader in our modern day. They are:

1. Self-awareness: understanding their strengths, weaknesses, values, and world view
2. Ingenuity: confidently innovating and adapting to embrace a changing world
3. Love: engaging others with a positive, loving attitude
4. Heroism: energizing themselves and others through heroic ambitions

Memorable quotes from the book include, "Though executives frequently rise through the ranks on the strength of their technical expertise, raw intelligence, and/or sheer ambition, these traits alone rarely translate into successful longterm leadership performance. Research increasingly suggestions that IQ and technical skills are far less crucial to leadership success than is mature self-awareness. In other words, the hard evidence points to the critical soft skills that are encompassed by knowing oneself (p. 29)."

and

"Individuals perform best when they are respected, valued, and trusted by someone who genuinely cares for their well-being. Loyola was unafraid to this bundle of winning attitudes, love" and to tap its energizing, unifying power for his Jesuit team. Effective leaders tap its power today as well (p. 33)."

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was unlikely I would have started reading this book had I known beforehand what it was about. As it happens I was in the office and came across an impressive looking book about leadership and naturally I couldn't walk past it. Two pages in I find out that I will be learning about Leadership from the Jesuits. While I try to be careful not to bring religion into trainings I decided I would go on reading and I was not disappointed. I learned so much both about leadership and about history. The stories of the lives of some of the most famous jesuits were fascinating though the writing itself was not very captivating so there were times when I felt I was just powering through instead of flying through. Nonetheless is was an unlikely yet informative book that gives you an entirely different approach to leadership. Yes, I bet all the leadership books say that. The difference here is that the approach is generous enough to consider everyone leaders and does not think this notion causes a paradox in the meaning of the word. It frees you to dip your toe into leadership regardless of what position or experience you have. It's a great approach to inspire you to begin your leadership journey.

[James Keogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on Jesuit leadership. I am attending a Master's program at the University of San Francisco, which is a Jesuit institution, and this book was assigned reading for a study abroad trip I am going on. After being in the program for a year and a half and not really understanding who the Jesuits were or how they started, Lowney does a great job of signifying their history while also making his point on how to be a successful leader.

I am not Jesuit and you do not need to be 'religious' to gain something from this book. Spoiler alert: There are four pillars to leadership success. Self Awareness, Ingenuity, Love, and Heroism which coalesce into a force which can only move forward when implemented.

I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to explore becoming a leader or to those who want to get more out of life.

[Farai Gorden · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who wanted to be a Jesuit at some point in my youth, I found this book enjoyable. I like how Chris linked the history of the Jesuits to modern corporate world, it was a well explained link. my take home point from the book is that leadership can be whittled down to four principles i.e. self awareness; ingenuity; love and heroism. I particularly enjoyed how he broke down these four into readable pieces in the book without losing the whole focus of the book. My only gripe with the book is that it is too long for I believe that 200 or 250 pages would have sufficed. However, that does not negate how good a book it is. Highly recommended.

[Isidro López · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como a menudo ocurre con las metáforas, creo que lleva demasiado lejos las "comparaciones" o lecciones que se pueden extraer del estilo de los jesuitas hacia el mundo empresarial.

Hay reflexiones y enseñanzas que sí considero muy valiosas. Pero en el momento en que analizamos algo que era un "estilo de vida" que ocupaba las 24 horas del día, no creo que sea adecuado ni sano pretender llevar según qué a un puesto de trabajo (y los puestos de "management" o "liderazgo" no son excepciones). Tampoco el concepto de "heroicidad" me parece el más sano para un profesional...

Dicho todo esto: el libro me parece interesante en general, y si te interesa la historia sí recomiendo su lectura.

[Joey S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It revitalized everything that was ATENEO in me, specifically the Jesuit foundations I had from ADMU. It also gave a much deeper appreciation of the Jesuits of who have modeled me into the person I am today.

I likewise applied many of the principles and the Four Pillars of Self-Awareness, Ingenuity, Love and Heroism in my company. The Team did very, very well. I now have to modify these applications in my company, but the Four Pillars will still stand (albeit modified), because they are timeless.

Highly recommended book!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few chapters, and the last two chapters were phenomenal, and a great relationship between the key tenets of Ignatian Spirituality with 'regular' leadership. The chapters on the individual Saints were interesting but a little dragged out.

Overall, a great read for people searching for tangible leadership training grounded in care for humans that also includes 'results', as opposed to simply caring about results.

[Esteban Martos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me pareció muy bueno, no solo por su propuesta de liderazgo sino por la narrativa de la historia de los Jesuitas, al leerlo uno entiende el por qué de sus casi 500 años de existencia y ser la orden más importante dentro del clero, los factores, ideales y fortalezas que los llevaron a sortear tantos obstáculos; aventureros, viajeros, emprendedores, matemáticos, maravillosos astrónomos e intelectuales, ha crecido mi simpatía y admiración por la Compañía de Jesús

[Aamir Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy-to-read summary of the Jesuit's origins and some of their more unique members who practiced in faraway countries. As a graduate of a Jesuit institution this helped me appreciate their unique outlook, and framing their mission as one of "branding" helps to generalize their ideas to other fields such as business. Very interesting read overall!

[Carlos Vázquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Si quiere que sus empleados se apoyen unos a otros, apoyelos con el estímulo, la lealtad y el honrado adiestramiento que les ayuda a correr a toda velocidad hacia la perfección".
Muchas enseñanzas de un grupo que nació y se formo con los valores del amor. Aplicar nuestros conocimientos en busca de un bien superior a nosotros debería ser una idea de vida para nosotros.

[Morgan Rohbock · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐

While probably not a book I'd recommend to many, this was a good blend of history, religion and leadership skills that I enjoyed and thought had some excellent anecdotes. (And yes this is not my normal read but this was a gift from a work colleague last year and I'm just glad I'll be able to tell them I finally read it next week.)

[Jim Cupples · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because the principles of leadership written about are applicable throughout time, and it's also interesting to read about the early Jesuits. The author looks at a handful of Jesuit priests and how they succeeded or failed in their missions, and also the Jesuit principles that played a role in their journey. Highly recommend whether someone is religious or not.

[Kym B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes some good points & provides interesting history about the Jesuits. It glosses over how easy it is for the Jesuits to spend so much time on self-awareness & personal examination. When you have no obligations to anyone or anything, there’s nothing but time. It’s unrealistic to apply this depth to the everyday lives of people who don’t have all of their needs provided for them.

[Alexander Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of how Jesuit history remains the paragon for leadership in education, business, and religious orders. Would throw some cool stories or quotes offered by the book here, but if I am ever really interested in remembering the book I should probably reread it since its a 2-day read.

[Nithila P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me a vast view, of the Jesuits - and their remarkable journey in educating remote corners of the world. Their commitment to their self-education, is another revelation. As well as their ability, to relax their need to proselytize communities and cultures, alien to their own.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro incluye mucha más historia de la Compañía de Jesús de la que esperaba, pero el mensaje es lindo. El estilo de liderazgo es ontológico, por lo tanto, muy respetuoso de las personas que forman parte del equipo. Recomendado.