Author’s Note: I am a trekkie. But after watching William Shatner, famously known as the legendary Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek, become the oldest person to journey to space, it got me to thinking about what we can learn from the sci-fi show. Going a bit deeper, I thought about what the show could teach CLOs about their work today.

As a result, my article series entitled What Star Trek Can Teach CLOs was ideated. The first part of the series focuses on Captain Kirk himself. Part II, this piece you’re reading now, will focus on Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Subsequent articles will focus on different captains from the famed show. I hope you find useful information from my analysis.

Learning Captain Picard

A New Show. A New Captain

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) hit television screens in September of 1987. I was only four years old at the time. It featured many things that were very similar to The Original Series (TOS). It still had an epic score. The stories were episodic and challenged the viewer to think about events happening around them. And the creative writing, while a little sluggish at first, was still uniquely Star Trek.

But there were many changes from TOS to TNG as well. The ship was much bigger with the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701 being replaced with the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D. The graphics were better. Now, command crew wore red and engineering staff wore gold, a flip-flop from the original show.

The crew remained diverse increasing the number of non-human crew members from one (Spock was the only non-human on the original crew) to three: an android named Data, a Klingon… once a mortal enemy of Starfleet… named Worf and a half-human/half-Betazoid counselor named Deanna Troi.

Among the changes… the captain. Gone was Captain Kirk, a man of action, replaced with a man of diplomacy, Captain Jean-Luc Picard… played by Sir Patrick Stewart. Unlike Kirk, Picard was born and raised on his parents’ vineyard in La Barre, France. That’s a steep contrast from Iowa-born Kirk. It gave the sense that Kirk was an All-American hero with Picard being a resolute, proper gentleman.

Picard, like Kirk, was intelligent… even more so with some respect. The late Lt. Tasha Yar, who died in the first season of TNG, describe Picard perfectly.

“You… who have the heart of an explorer and the soul of a poet.”

Based on this information, what can the character teach CLOs about leadership and delivering on promises/strategies. If we had to narrow the list of characteristics down to focus on, let’s go with:

• Diplomatic
• Resolute
• Explorer
• Poet

The Diplomatic CLO

There is something to be said about diplomacy. While one may not necessarily think of the chief learning officer being a diplomat, he/she/they truly is/are in the grand scheme of things. Throughout his time in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the TNG movies and now Star Trek: Picard, the captain has always focused on diplomacy as the best, most important course of action.

The 12^th episode of the 4^th Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation provides a perfect example. In that episode, a decorated Starfleet captain by the name of Ben Maxwell goes rogue… destroying Cardassian ships in what he believes is an attempt to thwart the Cardassians from launching an attack on the United Federation of Planets. The Cardassians and Starfleet aren’t exactly best mates, but a treaty at this point did exist between the two. Captain Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are sent to find out why Maxwell has stepped outside the ranks of Starfleet to conduct a what he considers a pre-emptive attack on the Cardassians.

Captain Picard… through use of his diplomatic skills… brokered a peace between Starfleet and the Cardassians. He goes so far as to invite three Cardassians onboard the Enterprise to observe/assist in the mission to investigate Maxwell. So, what’s the lesson? The best leaders find consensus through collaboration and, sometimes, find ways all sides can trust each other.

The Resolute CLO

“Resolute” is not a word heard often enough these days. In many cases, some mistake a resolute person for being pigheaded and/or stubborn. It is an easy mistake to make, but it is a mistake, nonetheless.

The resolute CLO is a person who understands the mission of his/her/their department and is confident in the decisions, once made, will lead to success. And sometimes, that requires little to no deviation to the plan. As you might of guess, it’s that lack of deviation which can be miscategorized.

There is much to be said about a resolute CLO, however. First and foremost, this person is not unmovable. Far from it. In most cases, a resolute CLO is focused on the goal and achieving it. The process can be adjusted accordingly, and a CLO recognizes that. It doesn’t always pan out, but it’s important for a CLO to accept change when beneficial and stay focused on the end goal of educating/training his/her/their employees for the betterment of themselves and the organization.

The Explorer CLO

Captain Picard often points to one descriptor as his being foundational to who he is… and that is being an explorer. Always looking to the horizon for new people and worlds to be discovered, but more important, for more knowledge to be discovered. It’s in that way CLOs can most emulate the captain.

This world is constantly changing as is the world of work and the employees that populate businesses. CLOs must explore new possibilities in corporate learning and training for employees. That could mean looking at new technologies, strategies, or processes. Simply maintaining the status quo will never amount to more than mediocrity.

Look at the data being gathered by the department. What story does it depict? What changes do learning leaders have to make to keep up with transition?

The Poet CLO

It’s conceivable one could consider this section a stretch from reality. Why would a chief learning officer need to be a poet? Well, the assertion isn’t that a CLO be an actual poet and didn’t know it, but rather be poet-like.

A poet, like any true artisan, can transform simple words into the most beautiful thoughts, can turn consternation into action through the melding of thoughts and words. Likewise, a poet CLO must be able to turn training in to action, data into strategy, and process into success. And all of this is done, often enough, out of little more than small pieces of fractal details.

In Summation

I offer one bonus observation. The character of Jean-Luc Picard has seen a resurgence in just the last few years with a brand-new spin-off series. I mentioned it before – Star Trek: Picard. As a fan, I am very excited about the possibility of learning more from the captain and the actor who portrays him… Sir Patrick Stewart.

Much of the first season of the show dealt with Admiral Picard’s (now retired) fall from grace. In true form, Picard rises from the ashes of his career to deal with a new mission with renewed energy. CLOs must lead the charge in finding new ways to pick-up and strengthen their teams… especially when one considers the ramifications and the continued struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every CLO can be that person for their respective teams and organizations.

In the coming weeks, I will continue to write about what CLOs can learn from the remaining Star Trek captains. The next one will focus on Captain Benjamin Sisko. While I am forever a fan of Captain Picard, Ben Sisko holds a special place in my heart, and I think has something to teach CLOs that no other captain to this point or even in the future… will be able to demonstrate.