Leaving 99 Sheep to Look for One Lost Sheep! Tuesday, Mar 11 2008

StarTrek Voyage Season 2 – Episode 2: ¨Initiations¨

In this episode and in several others in this series … I am reminded of the parable of the lost sheep in the bible. —- A good shepard will leave 99 sheep to look of one missing sheep, sometimes even putting those 99 in harm´s way in the process. Captain Janeway does just that in this episode and in other episodes as she won´t leave any of her people behind who are captured, sick, missing or separated from the crew inexplicably. The good shepard thus inspires loyalty in the team and fosters teamwork because all the other 99 sheep are confident that if it were them that were in this situation, their leader won´t leave any stone unturned in trying to get them. This act sends one simple message – ¨Everyone of you is an important part of this journey/endeavour/venture, I will go out of my way and do everything in my power to keep you safe¨

A leader NEVER compromises his principles – s/he will not sacrifice others to save himself.

And from Commander Chakotay himself ¨A man does not own land, he doesn´t own anything except the courage and loyalty in his heart¨ – wow! and here I thought we owned land, houses, cars and corporate empires! and what is that in the heart? courage and loyalty?

In light of the previous quote … we have our next tenet – a leader´s message/appeal is goes to the heart and spirit – to the potential for greatness within us all. That message could be verbal but more importantly the message is by behaviour – there is something the leader DOES that make even his enemy buy into his value system. In this episode, Commander Chakotay´s refusal to kill innocent children, risk his life to save that which he cares about and even give himself up as a sacrifice (at great risk) so someone can gain something they hold dear is a message that is louder than anything any orator could say.

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7 Leadership Insights from StarTrek Voyager Tuesday, Mar 11 2008

My first post is inspired by an episode of the Sci-Fi series – StarTrek-Voyager : Season 2 – Episode 1: ´The 37s´. In a nutshell, this is a story of a group of people (former enemies until now) who are lost in a distant part of space and are trying to find their way home. They must put their differences aside (at least for the moment), muster all their creativity and hope to get home and there isn´t any guarantee they will even make it in their lifetime given their current resources

I remember watching this movie about 10 years a go and geek that I was (and still am), the only thing that wowed me was the technology . Now, it is more a story of leadership, of teamwork and management and of the importance of different types of intelligence – intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical.

With respect to this episode … here are my insights.

1. Moral authority still surpasses positional authority – the captain of this ship finds time and again that is if futile to lock people up for rebellion or punish them in traditional ways — right out here with the possibility that they may never go home …. most of the fear of the institution is gone. So how does she keep the people working as a team and in order? She makes sacrifices for them, cares for them and no one doubts the fact that she will do everything within accepted principles to get them home.

2. A true leader sees the quality of leadership in others …. and respects it even if they are on different side of some conflict. Commander Chakotay – the leader of the rebel Marquis was very impressed by the Captain Janeway´s commitment to principles when she destroyed the only visible hope of returning just because she wasn´t willing to trade other people´s lives for the convenience of her and her crew. This commitment to principles comes clear when she wouldn´t pay body-parts thieves who had stole the lungs of one of her crew.

3. Within a leader, a battle always rages – how to reconcile nurturing and one´s principles with harsh reality and multiple conflicting expectations of those you lead. In this movie, there are times when some of the crew think adhering to principles and not thinking of self preservation at any cost is stupid – Captain Janeway is then faced with the hard choice of making an unpopular decision on behalf of everyone.

4. Even leaders doubt and sometimes the goal seems unattainable, to settle for second best. If u settle for second best … it will become a harsh reminder of your failure. Everyday, the life of second best will remind you that you did not try hard enough or you lacked the courage.

5. Moral dilemmas are the stuff a leader must successfully deal with to prove their integrity

6. True leaders CARE about their people and they SHOW it. And even if sometimes s/he takes harsh decisions and is hard on the followers, they also know. In Voyager this is shown when every single member of the crew passes the chance to stay on a planet that is like beautiful as home and holds hope and instead follow their captain on a journey to get to earth – their real home, a journey they may not likely finish in their lifetimes – talk about a vote of confidence. … which brings me to another point

7. The litmus test of good leadership is when followers voluntarily choose to follow the leader into the unknown rather than stay without him/her in some equally good place.

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