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. Part I of the series focuses on Captain Kirk himself. Part II focuses on Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Part III focuses on Captain Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Part IV focuses on Captain Kathryn Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. Part V, this article, focuses on Captain Jonathan Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise. Subsequent articles will focus on different captains from the famed show. I hope you find useful information from my analysis.

Learning Captain Archer

Going to the Past in the Future

Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT) flew onto television screens on September 26, 2001. The fifth iteration and the fourth spin-off of the original Star Trek (TOS), this particular story wouldn’t take place in the same timeline as TOS, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Star Trek: Voyager. In fact, it is set decades before the adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

At the time Enterprise takes place, Earth is still very much in its space exploration infancy. Humans have only made contact with a few species… the Vulcans and the Denobulans… just to name a few.  And earth starships weren’t capable of warp speeds much higher than Warp 3 that is except for the USS Enterprise, registration number NX-01. The NX-01 was the first starship capable of Warp 5.

This new, experimental starship was under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, son of the man who invented the Warp 5 engine. Played by Scott Bakula, it marked the first time a known actor was cast to play the lead in a Star Trek series. Previous actors were all relatively unknown to audiences at the time of casting. Bakula, however, had had quite a successful run as Sam Beckett in the fantastic Sci-Fi series Quantum Leap.

Captain Archer was a bit of a departure from what audiences had come to expect from Star Trek captains previously. He was, for all intents and purposes, more human than any before him. That requires some explanation. As noted, Earth was in the very early stages of space exploration. The same can be said of Starfleet.

At this juncture, Archer, and other Starfleet officers, did not have the same history of experience with which to pull from or lean on. The crew of the NX-01 under Archer’s command, when all is said and done, was made up of trailblazers from which all other crews stemmed.

Even though Archer was the son of the man who invented his ship’s engine, he was never above his crew in any way. He viewed himself very much their equal. That’s critical because the respect of the senior officers and the crew stemmed from the view that Archer was no better than themselves.

He also led from the front and not from the back. Archer firmly believed that he could not ask his crew to do anything he wasn’t prepared to do himself. In other words, he led by example.

And he was fiercely protective of the people under his command. He saw them, not just as Starfleet officers, but people. He expected an officer to bring himself/herself/themselves wholly to their work. Archer created an environment in which all could truly be themselves.

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:

• Trailblazing
• Equal
• Protective
• Inclusive

The Trailblazing CLO

An amazing chief learning officer is often seen as trailblazing. This is a CLO who takes smart risks with brilliant results. It’s easy enough to say, but hard to do. To be a trailblazer… one must have years if not decades of experience. Very few people come to earn the description naturally. A trailblazer is grown over time with a plethora of applicable experience.

But it is not something that cannot be achieved.

A CLO who wishes to be a trailblazer must start out with small decisions; those with which there is a high degree of success likely. Through that success, one can analyze the resulting data to inform future decisions and application of strategy. Again, it can be done… but with some practice and time.

The Equal CLO

Nothing is more disconcerting for an employee than to see a leader who thinks of himself/herself/themselves as “better than” their employees. While a chief learning officer may have more experience than members of their team or even the employees who work for the organization, that does not mean one is better than their peers.

The equal CLO must be, in reality, a person who lives and operates on the same level as his peers, direct reports and subordinates. This allows for longer lasting professional relationships but also real trust between co-workers.

This does not come without difficulty. There must be a balance. At the end of the day, the CLO is tasked with much more impactful responsibilities. And by the sheer fact the person is a chief learning officer, the responsibility of learning and training falls squarely on his/her/their shoulders.

The Protective CLO

The protective chief learning officer is just that: protective. He/She/They are protective of their teams and the employees of the organization. That means providing the appropriate training and content connected to the job responsibilities of the employees.

And in today’s environment, it’s also about protecting employees from the world around them. I know most might disagree with this statement, but it is true. Employees must be able to operate in an environment of psychological safety. A CLO can provide this environment so employees can be their best selves at work.

The Inclusive CLO

The inclusive chief learning officer brings everyone into the mix. All parts of a person are acceptable and valued in the workplace… that includes the learning space. There is often a disparity between people in the learning space. Most of the time, these disparities are created by the employees themselves.

An inclusive CLO can detect these environments and amend them accordingly. Employees cannot learn if they perceive themselves as less than another employee. Now, it is not always an ability of the chief learning officer or the learning leadership team to change this for an employee. Sometimes, it’s not detectable.

The best one can do is to create an environment where employees are capable and competent in their ability and in the information they are learning day in and day out as it relates to their jobs.

In Summation

Star Trek: Enterprise was only on the air for four seasons. That’s three years less than the other captains, which is a travesty in and of itself. However, he was no less a captain than the others. In many cases, I think he resonated more with viewers than some are willing to admit. He was more like the viewer in the end and there is solace in that fact.

In the weeks to come, I will continue this article series looking at more captains from Star Trek. Next up – Captain Michael Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery.