If asked to name someone they consider a leader, many would respond with the typical answer of George Washington or Martin Luther King, Jr. Almost no one would respond with his or her own name.

Chris Lowney would argue that this is a mistake. Leadership is not about status, it’s about who you are inside, he said.

Lowney, author of “Heroic Leadership,” spoke Tuesday on his model of what it is to be a leader.

“Leadership today is connected to a broken idea that a leader is someone who is in charge, who is important, who is famous,” Lowney said. “That idea of leadership is our problem.”

Instead, Lowney associates leadership with his four dimensions: self-awareness, genius, heroism and love.

“First, you need to know your strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “Second, the world is always changing. Be a genius. Only those who can adapt will be well off. Third is heroism. We have to motivate ourselves and other people with the passion to excel. And finally, love. We must treat other people that respects their dignity and tries to unlock their potential.”

Lowney’s own experiences have shaped his personal philosophy. At 18, he joined the Jesuit seminary.

He was a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University and received his masters and doctoral degrees.

Lowney also taught English and economics classes at a Jesuit high school. Lowney left the Jesuits at 25 after deciding that was not the right path for him.

He then worked for J.P. Morgan & Co., working his way up to managing director for the company. Lowney spoke about how his experiences at a multi-million dollar company opened his eyes to the corporate world.

“What’s really happening is that we have this gated club that is totally disconnected to its purpose. We in the corporate world have created a monster and you’re the victims.”

He gave one surprising statistic: more than 50 percent of workers of any company are not happy at their job.

This is because, according to Lowney, we are not following the idea of St. Ignatius that, “Love manifests deeds.”

During the question and answer period, Lowney addressed college students specifically.

“Many can figure out how to do school, but can’t figure out how to do life,” he said.

He urged students to challenge themselves and “practice failing.”

“This system is serving none of us in the end because we end up selecting people who are safe and gone down that narrow chute, but don’t have these skills that we really care about,” he said. “We have created this very strange dilemma.”

Lowney’s talk was sponsored by the Pepsi Leadership Grant, Student Activities, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, College of Business Administration, Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Program and the Freshman Leadership Program.

Chris Brand, Business senior appreciated the multi-angled speech.

“This is a different speaker that you usually wouldn’t get at Creighton,” Brand said.

“Usually you would either get the Jesuit perspective or someone from a corporation. So I thought it was neat how he tied it all together.”