How SyFi  helps us understand leadership  - Blair McPherson

  The fact that it is a spaceship and not an office, the future and not the present, an alien world not our  own,  turns a rather dry review of leadership styles into an exciting and engaging examination of how leaders operate in challenging circumstances. 

 

Academic books and articles about management and leadership styles have limited appeal even to ambitious managers. However the audience for science fiction on t.v. or films is huge. Even if you are not a fan of SyFi an article on what the different management styles of Captain Kirk and Spook tells us about leadership sounds a lot more interesting than a lecture on leadership theory. At least that’s what I’m counting on. 

 

Kirk cheats on his final Star Fleet Academy exam his justification at his subsequent court marshal is that the test is set up to ensure failure. The only way to succeed is to cheat. Kirk is extremely competitive and not used to failure, he is devious and cunning. Only the out break of war saves him from dismissal. Not what you would immediately think of as leadership material. But he is an effective leader, inspires loyalty and confidence and has a strong sense of fairness. 

 

Spook on the other hand is a stickler for the rules. A man /Vulcan of principle, claims Vulcans are incapable of lying, have mastered their emotions, are governed by logic and hold to a philosophy that states, “the needs of the many out way those of the few”. He is by far the most knowledgeable member of the crew and as such he is a respected and effective leader but is considered cold and lacking a sense of humour. 

 

As a leader it was Kirk’s unorthodox approach that often won the day. In one famous incident surrounded by Klingon birds of prey, hopelessly out gunned and with the ships shields failing he appeared to have no alternative but to surrender to merciless enemies.

Not Kirk, he convinced the surrounding Klingons that rather than allow his ship to be boarded and his crew taken prisoners he would press the self destruct button. Fearing his plan was to take them with him the Klingon ships retreated to a safe distance allowing Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to escape. This was a classic Kirk bluff and as resent research by the University of Waterloo in Canada appears to confirm bluffing is a skill which denotes above average intelligence, it’s also a very useful leadership skill.

Both men are prepared to risk their own lives to save others . Spook risks his life to save a primitive race from destruction but then criticises Captain Kirk for rescuing him and putting the ship and crew at ,”unnecessary” risk. 

The building is on fire. There are two people trapped inside. There is only time for you to rescue one. One is a Nobel scientist on the verge of developing a cure for cancer that could potential save the lives of millions. The other is your mother. Who do you save? Faced with this dilemma Spook would not hesitate to make the most rational decision and rescue the scientist because this would provide the greater good. But what sort of heartless creature  would let their own mother die when they could have saved her? Leaders need to be capable of making difficult decisions without letting their emotions cloud their judgment and without being influenced by what others may think of them.

Two very different management / leadership styles both equally valid in the right circumstances which can complement each other. 

Blair McPherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk