What “The Little Prince” teaches about LSP facilitation and ethics
My love for literature and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) has often coincided. Certain books have left a lasting impact on me, much like the LSP method has in the last few years because they share commonalities — the thrill of discovery, the power of metaphor, and wisdom.
While pondering over this subject — LSP, Facilitation, and Ethics, I instantly remembered Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince — a book I keep returning to. The Fox’s words to the Little Prince: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”
As LSP facilitators, we are responsible for holding emotions, strategy, and trust, creating a space where participants feel safe enough to open up. Besides, a facilitator has many other responsibilities, each as crucial as the next.
The Little Prince unearths new wisdom with every reading, much like LSP does with each workshop. Both use metaphors— one to make sense of life, the other to unveil hidden challenges and needs. As I deliberate on both, the parallels are striking—when it comes to the art and ethics of facilitation, there’s more than meets the eye, and it’s well worth exploring.
Facilitator-Participant Connection
At first, the Little Prince doesn’t quite understand his rose. She’s dramatic, a little demanding, and not always easy to please. But as he travels across the planets, meeting all sorts of characters, he realizes that his rose isn’t just any flower. She’s his flower — the one he has cared for, listened to, and protected. What makes her special isn’t what she is, but the time and effort he has put into their relationship.
LSP facilitation works the same way. Every group we work with is like the Little Prince‘s rose — unique, sometimes unpredictable, but invaluable. It’s not just about facilitating a workshop but investing in the participants in that room. Just like the Fox tells the Little Prince, “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” In other words, the care we put in and the energy we exude let those participants feel connected and valued.
Also, rushing a workshop is like rushing a bond — it loses depth. Like the Little Prince‘s connection with his rose took time, valuable outcomes need the proper process and time to emerge in a workshop. Cutting corners will only leave a shallow experience trivializing the method. Once a client pushed me to cram an LSP workshop into a limited time, I turned to Master Trainer Robert Rasmussen for advice. He said: “We often use the paint metaphor for how much content you can cover in a given time. With this metaphor, you are trying to paint a big 2-story house using 1 liter of paint only. The result will not be pretty.” Like many of Robert’s words of wisdom, this one stayed with me. I made the necessary call — I dropped that workshop.
Understanding What Lies Beneath
In The Little Prince, the narrator recalls his childhood drawing of a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant. When he showed it to grown-ups, they all dismissed it as a simple drawing of a hat. They couldn’t see beneath the surface.
In an LSP workshop, participants build models that could have many layers. As facilitators, we might have learned the trick of asking the right questions to uncover the metaphors, but we should also be empathetic enough to look beyond the “hat” and assess whether a participant is ready to face what’s inside their “boa constrictor.” It’s not just about noticing the “elephant“—it’s about knowing when to step back when to ask, and when to hold space.
Why Rites Matter
While traveling across the planets, the Little Prince meets the Fox on Earth, who teaches him about connection, responsibility, and the importance of rituals. The Fox explains that to bond with someone, you must “tame” them — a process that takes time, patience, and, most importantly, the observance of “proper rites.” “One must observe proper rites…” says the Fox. When the Little Prince asks what a rite is, the Fox replies, “Those also are actions too often neglected.“
In LSP, the “rites” are essential. For instance, skills-building prepares participants to engage fully with the process. Just as the Fox teaches the Little Prince that rituals lay the foundation for authentic connection — skills-building in LSP helps the participants understand the power of metaphors, which is the core of LSP. Skipping or trimming this ritual would leave the participants lost. Providing identical kits during skills-building is crucial — random LEGO heaps disrupt the process and break the ritual. The facilitator has to honor these rites to help the participants “tame” the process, making the rest of the workshop impactful.
Echo Chambers Are No Cathedrals
As the Little Prince journeys on, he meets a conceited man who craves admiration — “…regard me as the handsomest, best-dressed, richest, and the most intelligent man on this planet,” he demands. The Little Prince glances around and replies, “But you’re the only man on your planet!“ and sighs, that the grown-ups are certainly very odd.
LSP facilitators cannot afford to be this odd, trapped in an echo chamber of isolation and vanity. Growth comes from humility and the wisdom of the community—shared experiences and constructive criticism help the facilitator flourish. Remember Robert’s words, “No one can build a cathedral on their own.”
Quality Over Quantity
On the fourth planet, the Little Prince meets the businessman hunched over his desk, endlessly counting the stars. “I own them,” the man claims. When the Little Prince asks the purpose of this ownership, the businessman is at a loss — he collects for the sake of collecting. The Little Prince tries to explain how he owns a rose that he waters and three volcanoes that he regularly cleans. The businessman does not respond.
Facilitators must not become like this businessman obsessed with counting meaningless workshops to stack up their portfolio. Chasing numbers over impact is an ethical dilemma. The value lies in the transformation we bring as facilitators. Workshops, like stars, are meant to shine, not be hoarded.
From Surface to Depth
When the Little Prince meets the geographer, he proudly catalogs all the seas, rivers, towns, and mountains. But when the Little Prince asks about the oceans or mountains on his planet, the geographer says, “I couldn’t tell you.” He’s never explored them, relying on what others told him.
Facilitators who scratch the surface or rely on second-hand information, like the geographer, will derail the workshop. Facilitators must take the time to engage with the stakeholders to capture the correct objective. Only through first-hand understanding from stakeholders and 3D interviews can they design a roadmap that addresses the needs and delivers a successful workshop.
Guardians of the Method
The Little Prince tells the narrator about baobabs — the massive trees, if left unchecked, will overtake the entire planet — ”It’s a question of discipline,” he says. He warns one must deal with them early while they’re still tiny— “A baobab is something you will never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late.“
Just like the Little Prince weeds out baobabs before they take over, we facilitators must identify poor practices early before they take root. We are accountable to the participants, organizations, and the method—every action and decision matters. We are guardians of the method, and it’s our collective responsibility within the LSP community to protect the integrity of the work we do.
Once the Fox told the Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”— we as LSP facilitators need to lead with our hearts; it’s about understanding what is unsaid and creating a space for conversations that matter.
Manali Mitra is the Founder and Chief Facilitator of BlockstoUnblock Studio LLP
Connect with her on LinkedIn
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