Captain Picard: Is He a Good Leader?

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Captain Picard: Is He a Good Leader? In Star Trek the Next Generation : "The Defector," does Captain Picard prove himself to be a good leader? In trying to answer this question, I thought "Well, what makes a good leader? Who do we (the general public) consider to be good leaders?" The most obvious choices popped into my head: President of the United States, Congress Representatives, CEO's of large companies. But after considering these leaders, I did not see how Picard compared to them. After all, he is the Captain of the Enterprise, a military space ship. I guess that makes him more of a Colin Powell type-a U.S. military officer of the highest ranking. It makes sense that U.S. military officers are considered to be good leaders. But, does Picard (as a military officer himself) measure up to the standards of a U.S. military officer? Well, what are the standards of a U.S. military officer? I mean, what characteristics must a person posses in order to reach the level of Colin Powell? I am certain that there are more than a few characteristics one must exhibit in order to become an officer in the U.S. military (not just anyone can be an officer, you know), but the three that I find the most essential are: a person must be able to think rationally in the time of a crisis; a person must display determination and confidence when confronting a crisis; a person must keep in mind those who depend on the decisions he or she is making. If someone possesses these three abilities, I think the person can be considered a good leader. In "The Defector," Captain Picard faces a crisis similar to one a U.S. military officer may face (of course, science fictional war and real-life being understood as two separate occurrences). A Romulan ... ... middle of paper ... ...hat the Federation can definitely depend on to make the right decisions in the time of any crisis. He is a man of rationality, confidence and determination, and understanding of others who depend on him; he is a good leader. That is a fact that cannot be second guessed. Works Cited Star Trek The Next Generation: "The Defector. Videotape. Dir. Robert Scheerer. With Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton. Paramount Pictures, 1990. 46 min. Lynch, Timothy. The Defector: a Synopsis and Review. n. pag. Online. Internet. 15 January, 1995. Available : http://cruciform.cid.com./~werdna/sttng/tlynch/defector.rev.html. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. n. pag. Online. Internet. Available: gopher://spinaltap.micro.umn.edu:70/11/Ebooks/By%20Title/shake/ Histories/King%20Henry%20V

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