Patrick Stewart died last week, aged 86 (NPR). His portrayal of Jean-Luc Picard, along with his titanic Shakespearean performances, has had a profound impact on my life.
Seeing a leader like Picard, even as a young boy, someone who was smart, empathetic, compassionate and wanted nothing more than to solve a problem with grace and all sides winning felt mesmerising. And as a non-religious person, for a while, I lived my life in the hopes that my hero, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a fictitious character, would be proud of my actions.
I base my leadership on Jean-Luc Picard, and I think Stewart is the reason I could.
Ask the room, then decide and own it
In the observation lounge, Picard asks his senior officers for options before he decides. Data, Troi, La Forge and Riker each get their say, and he listens to whoever is closest to the problem. Then he says “make it so”, and the decision is his, with his name on whatever follows.
That order is what I take from him. The people with the problem are asked first, and the decision stays with me afterwards, with my name on it.
Hold a line that costs you something
Two episodes show me what that looks like. In “The Measure of a Man”, Starfleet wants to dismantle Data for study, and Picard argues at a formal hearing that Data is a person with the right to refuse. In “The Drumhead”, an admiral investigating sabotage starts treating disagreement as disloyalty, and Picard confronts her until the room can see what the inquiry has become.
Neither is a safe fight. In both he risks his standing with people who outrank him, because the alternative is going along with something he thinks is wrong.
A line you have never paid for is a preference. For a consultancy, holding one means being willing to turn down work that would be easy to take.
Keep someone who can tell you you’re wrong
Riker disagrees with Picard in the room, in front of the crew, and then carries out the order. He also turned down commands of his own to stay where he was. The person who challenges you works best when they have no reason to flatter you.
In First Contact, Picard’s hatred of the Borg has bent his judgement. Lily Sloane, who isn’t crew and has no reason to care about his rank, calls him Ahab. He hears it and changes his mind.
I run a one-person business, so nobody on my payroll can tell me no. If I want a Riker, they have to sit outside it. Stewart’s performance showed me that listening is a virtue. That changing your mind, even when faced with such horror, is not just a noble act, but the noble act.
Stewart played a man who listens first and decides last.
Rest in power, Patrick Stewart, a man who didn’t look like a hero, but played one, one I wanted to emulate, anyway.
