In the latest issue of the New Yorker is an article by John McPhee. As I revere his writing, I turned straight to that page.
I brought with me to my reading my preoccupation of the moment - something that has increasingly been on my mind as this last year has progressed. That preoccupation is: why are our leaders so second-rate at the moment and, if I am so critical of them, what is it I want instead?
I have no answer to the why but, in John McPhee's description of Paul McHenry Washburn, Captain in 1988 of the SS Stella Sykes, US Merchant Marine, I have found a perfect summing up of what it is I expect from a leader:
"He was aloof, commanding, understanding, sympathetic, and utterly adroit in the skills of his demanding profession ... from the engine room to the bridge the ship was running on respect for him."
It's called Tabula Rasa, in the 19 April edition. If you can't access it, I'll try to screenshot and pass it to you that way.
ReplyDelete