Make It So: Jean-Luc Picard- A Lesson in Leadership

(Originally published 24 June, 2009)It annoys me to no end when I make suggestions on how to improve leadership, and people treat me like I know nothing of what I am talking about and then proceed to either ignore me or try to silence me. For starters, I will clear up any misconceptions that ANYONE has regarding my knowledge or experiences in leadership responsibilities.

1) I have been a "Chapter Commanding Officer" of various Star Trek fan organizations for the past fifteen years. I have organized, and LED people in various activities on the local level, as well as on the international level (Yes, at one point, I even took the reigns of the parent organization for a brief time) and had to LEAD and deal with a LOT of people.

2)Aside from that, I have also taken up various responsibilities at other organizational levels, including handling diplomatic relations with other clubs and organizations, and holding LEADING positions in the clubs' various branches. Therefore, I would say I have plenty of experience (if three years is considered "experienced", then I guess I'm "over-experienced".)

With that being said, I hope people will not be so quick to brush me aside as an "inexperienced upstart" who "knows nothing about what he is talking about."

Now on to the topic of this post: Who did I look to for leadership lessons? The answer is Jean-Luc Picard. Granted, he is a fictional character, but I firmly believe that the writers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, or any other incarnation of Star Trek had to do some research into leadership roles in order to make the show and the plot believable. Jean-Luc Picard was the prime example of a leader. He was always motivated to get the job done, no matter what it took. He was a leader, a diplomat, and probably most importantly fair and respectable to all of those under his command. He rarely faltered, and when he did, he would re-evaluate the situation and correct his mistakes before they led to disaster. He never charged blindly into any situation, nor did he procrastinate when action needed to be taken. He also knew how to properly delegate responsibilities to the appropriate members of his crew in order to get the job done, and done right. The end result was a ship that ran smoothly with little or no conflict or problems of any kind. I looked to Captain Jean-Luc Picard for inspiration whenever a decision had to be made. If conflict arose, I learned to deal with it as diplomatically as possible in order to resolve the issue with the utmost expedience and success. I also learned that different people have different leadership styles, and while no one style is necessarily wrong, some leadership styles are better than others. Using what I've learned, I was able to keep my own "crew" intact, despite differences, for many years (and I continue to do so).

In closing, I highly suggest Make It So: Leadership Lessons From Star Trek, The Next Generation to anyone in any type of leadership position (and it was a church pastor that recommended it to me) as a tool to hone leadership skills. MAKE IT SO!