Leadership in a Land of Tears: What “The Little Prince” Teaches Us about Responsibility
by
Patrick Whalen
—
5 months ago
This post is sponsored by St. Martin’s Academy.
I did not know how to reach him, how to catch up with him… the land of tears is so mysterious. -Antoine de Saint-ExuperyMost major bookstores will have a section devoted to leadership. Perhaps you have seen them? Dominating the shelves are books filled with well-intentioned how-to advice that is difficult to distinguish from the platitudes and bromides that fill its neighbors. Probably never will you find the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s pamphlet length book titled The Little Prince on the shelves devoted to leadership, but he offers an insight we desperately need in order to mitigate the hollowness in our understanding and practice of leadership.
The quote from The Little Prince above describes a fictional meeting between a space travelling little boy—apparently a prince—and the author. The Little Prince, visiting earth from an asteroid, has explained that he is afraid for his flower—a rose—that grows on Asteroid B-612. One is never certain that an untended flower will not be eaten by a hungry celestial sheep, and realizing just that possibility has brought the Little Prince to tears. Antoine de Saint-Exupery struggles to console his small companion in this difficulty. But as he puts it, he is unable “to catch up with him.”
What Makes a Leader?
Antoine is an older man, a pilot on a mission gone wrong, who finds himself stranded in the desert with a broken airplane and a young prince who has just dropped in from outer space. Antoine needs to fix his engine but is likely to die of dehydration before he can. In the meantime, the Little Prince is crying on account of the sheep and flower situation. Perhaps inexplicably, Antoine assumes responsibility for his young visitor’s tears although he is not certain what to do about them.
You see, Antoine is a leader. He is confronted with two problems: a malfunctioning engine; and a sheep/flower/tears situation. Generally, engines can be fixed; a mal functioning thing can be made to function properly; one exerts one’s will upon the malfunctioning object and, with a little luck and know-how, the thing functions. Whereas, for Antoine to attempt to impose his will on the Little Prince as if he were an engine to be fixed would be worse than useless. No. What to do about the possibility of hungry celestial sheep is the real challenge. Antoine chooses the more difficult mission—to attempt consoling the Little Prince, and it is more difficult because the Prince is not malfunctioning; he is suffering.
Suffering and Responsibility(Continued)
https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2017/ ... nsibility/