“5 Leadership Lessons from…” is a short 3 blog series designed to take key leadership elements from some of the most popular TV shows and how they may apply in day to day situations. The blogs explore the immediate leadership lessons, how the characters worked through them and what key takeaways exist for the reader.
Read the series:
1. 5 Leadership Lessons from… The Sopranos
2. 5 Leadership Lessons from… Star Trek
3. 5 Leadership Lessons from… Peaky Blinders
5 Leadership lessons from… Star Trek
Star Trek is a cult classic that has been around for decades. The adventures of a starship crew going boldly where no one has gone before has captivated millions and even laid the pathway to some technological developments. One strong theme is the role of the Captain and how they influence those around them. Star Trek provides many leadership marvels and we cover 5 of them in this edition.
- Be the go-to figure
As a leader, your team should be both comfortable in approaching you and also promote you as a person of authority. Captain Jean Luc Picard was a strong example of a leader who the crew respected and followed. He was a person they could go to for direction, advice and also friendship and confidence.
Captain Picard would often seek advice from those around him in making decisions, recognising the strengths each member of his team had. When the situation required it though, he would make a clear command and even help to guide the crew in carrying it out. People respected that they could voice their opinions but also felt more trusting as the Captain would be there to support them in their roles.
This trust that developed meant they felt comfortable in going to the Captain with their issues or concerns. A part of leadership is listening to the personal matters of the team. While some issues don’t seem important to us they are often very important to the person, and a leader who can see this and spends time with their team learning their strengths, values and concerns develops trust and strengthens the leader’s ability in using the right person for the right task.
2. You will have to make decisions without all the facts
One thing that the wider universe is good at teaching us is that things often won’t go to plan. There are simply too many other forces at work, and, those forces aren’t interested in the way you think things should go down. From the cause of the Battle of the Binary Stars to Voyager having no idea what they’d come upon next, that crew had to be adaptable to overcome the harsh challenges they often faced.
For leaders, especially in security, you need to have procedures and training to ensure people understand the right way to do things. That also means there should be dynamic risk assessing – being able to modify the plan/procedures to suit the conditions the team finds themselves in. The team will look to the leader to guide them through these unknown situations, often with the leader just as unsure. Being able to read the play in front of you and maximising the use of your team’s skills will be very important.
3. Even when the odds are against you, the team needs you to stand strong
Leaders have a strong influence on their teams in times of adversity. When all hell is breaking loose and it seems like a no-win situation, the team will turn to their leader. When all seems lost a leader has to inspire and push forward with their team to get through to the other side.
Captain Lorca was a strong character playing the role of leader well. While the vessel he led was meant for science, he had to lead his crew into battle, something they weren’t all used to. To gain this motivation and compliance he had to have an understanding of how far he could push the individuals and a level of trust that when he gave a command they’d obey it, believing that he had taken into account what could happen. A strong and united team can achieve almost anything.
If the leader freezes with fear, or retreats without giving instructions, the team will either do the same or start to get creative. It will never be possible for a leader to have all the answers, especially in an un-encountered situation, so having the team on board and discussing plans with them will help everyone feel more comfortable with the way forward, as they all had a chance to give input. And, it will help cement the leader’s position as fair but decisive.
4. Sometimes you have to get in on the action
Sometimes the classic saying “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself” rings true. Although, one could argue Captain Picard probably took that to a whole new level. The fact is that at times there will be tasks so important, or that appear that way, that will require the skill and experience of the leader to be involved or doing the task.
Now while this shouldn’t be all the time, there are occasions, such as safety, where the leader will need to step in and take over or carry out the task. What effective leaders do is use it as a learning tool to show the team another way of handling something, or, advise them as to why they may need to step in. Helping the team understand the why means they will hopefully understand the reasons and work to support the leader in achieving the objective.
5. But don’t forget the team have a job to do
Leaders must remember that their teams are employed to do a job. Usually, the leader is there to inspire, coach, train, support and help the team, but generally not to do the same tasks. The team need trust and space to get on with their jobs. Micromanaging is time-consuming, exhausting for those involved and means the leader is more likely to take their eyes off the bigger picture. The chain of command exists to spread the responsibilities and supervision so that both strategy and operation can take place.