Captain Picard as A Noble Warrior :: Star Trek Essays Papers

Captain Picard as A Noble Warrior Captain Picard is a good leader because of his ability to think clearly and objectively in all situations. He does not have pride blocking his ability to think rationally and see all sides of an issue. Also, he is not easily swayed by his emotions and does not allow them to cloud his judgment. Picard's ability to act quickly leads to effective delegating and exemplary leadership. A good leader is one who brings out the best in his people while being a servant to them. Pride often seems to come between a leader and his decisions. Picard never makes mention of what would be best for him, but instead is always thinking about his crew and what is in their best interest. In "The Defector" he repeatedly make comments to his desire for his crew to have a noble and honorable cause for war. He does not want their deaths to be in vain. As Henry V acted compassionately towards his men, Picard too wants to display the same sensitivity Henry did when his men were about to enter battle. Picard wants to know how his crew is feeling and what their needs might be. Picard and Henry are good leaders because they continue to look past their own wants and onto their troops needs. In the Henry V scene, Data is playing the role of King Henry. While Henry is undercover, he is quoted as saying, "The King is but a mere man". He is mortal just like his men. Picard is able to clearly se e the King's internal struggle with allowing himself to get close to his men while not weakening his position as their leader. Captain Picard knows his limits and is not ashamed or to proud to admit them, he just does not want to appear incapable to his men. He must be remain an assertive leader, while allowing himself to be human and approachable. Picard is constantly having his crew involved and helping him make a good clear judgment about Jarok. This shows he is not over confident in his leadership position. "Picard is supposed to be calm and calculating because well, he's the captain. If he bought everyone's emotional appeal he wouldn't be a very good leader" (Reyer Jan 30, 1996). Picard knows how to balance his gut feeling with the facts. As Visor pointed out, we do not always have all the facts, and this is where your "gut feeling" must come in, to fill in the missing details.