#27 – Exemplary Leaders: The USS Starship Enterprise Strikes Again
Part 4: Role Models from Popular Culture
The last part of our summer series on role models from popular culture.
We round off with another character from the Starship Enterprise, this time Captain Jean-Luc Picard, nominated by Florian Cahn.
How extraordinary that a TV series dating back to the Sixties should have spawned so many characters that have become popular icons.
I think this series has demonstrated that certain characters from popular culture really do penetrate the public consciousness. But also that they become role models, some of them very much influencing our behaviours.
And I think that the series, although intentionally whimsical, has further shown that we can learn a lot from some of these artistic creations.
I’m indebted to all of the contributors to the series. In the next issue of Practical Counsel I’ll announce who, in my view, deserves the accolade of Top Nominator – and that lucky individual will be receiving a small token of gratitude from myself and the team at Practical Counsel.
Also in this issue the second part of a discussion about the ‘drama triangle’, a dynamic I started to discuss in the last issue of Practical Counsel. In the last issue I outlined the nature of the dynamic, and in this issue I discuss some ways to escape from the dynamic, or to resolve it.
Enjoy reading, and please comment and contribute to the debate by posting direct on Practical Counsel. Also, please write in with your unique people issues to me (practicalcounsel@substack.com) - I unequivocally undertake never to reveal your identity and will change key details of your situation so as to preserve your confidentiality and anonymity (unless you don’t want this). I also undertake to write to you personally with my own thoughts and comments on your situation and am always happy to follow up with a call on Zoom or similar.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard – In every success, a seed of failure
This week’s Lead Contributor is Florian Cahn, a German qualified General Counsel. Florian studied at the University of Bonn and has a Masters in European and International Business Law from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK. Florian has significant experience in dispute resolution, energy law, construction law, project finance, Corporate and M & A, and international trade law. He is General Counsel and VP Legal Patents Insurance of Framatome GmBH, and a Member of the Board of the German Arbitration Institute.
Dear Jonathan,
To my mind, the success of your leadership journey is defined by the clickbait capacity of your aphorisms.
At least that is what you are led to believe when browsing the ever growing “inspirational section” of your LinkedIn feed. And, or so I strongly suspect, the surest way to gather traction for your leadership guru fame on this – or a similar – platform would be to simply string together some of the most memorable quotes from popular movie culture: Start with Yoda and Mr. Miyagi, go faux controversial with Vito Corleone and Jules Winnfield in the middle section, lead out showcasing your intimacy with arthouse cinema by quoting Theodore Twombly (or his Samantha), and drive it home with something funny from Nanny McPhee. That should do it. Congratulations, you’re Peter Drucker reborn.
For the character of Jean-Luc Picard, starship captain and hairstyle icon of the 90s (second only – perhaps - to John McLane), dumbed-down one-line leadership mottos were largely an alien concept, pun intended. That said, he did have some useful lessons to offer on leadership for in-house counsel – often unintentional lessons.
Understand and use diversity
Take Picard’s instructive relationship with Data, the android third-in-command. Apart from the general dialogue around what it means to be “human”, which borrowed heavily – and at times rather clumsily – from Philipp K. Dick, Picard’s approach was always to remind Data of the benefits of his uniqueness, both for the team and himself (or “itself”, if you prefer). And as much as he humored and patiently assisted the android in the desperate quest to become “more like everyone else”, Picard never so much as implied that he would have liked Data to permanently assimilate, to “behave normal”.
Picard knew and nurtured the true value of diversity, in a much more profound manner than the mere assembly of different ethnicities on Kirk’s bridge. And – as any in-house counsel can attest who had one or more Data (read: legal and/or social nerd) among his or her team – this can occasionally be an immensely frustrating experience. But sometimes also literally lifesaving:
Picard: You don’t remember your death? I can’t forget it.
Data: Apparently I ended my existence in the hope of prolonging yours.
Picard: That's right. Before I had even grasped the nature of our situation, you had conceived, and executed it. I was furious.
Data: My apologies, Captain. But I am not certain I could have done otherwise.
Picard: True. That might have been the most Data thing you ever did.
Practice your values under pressure
Picard’s other transformational relationship is, of course, the one with the entity Q, while in fact it would be more apt to say: his relationship with himself through Q. Because Q is actually more a projection than anything else. (Actor Patrick Stewart indeed believes that “Q is the other aspect of Picard”, see here)
For Picard as an individual and as a leader, Q represents the forced, if temporary, exit from the emotional and intellectual comfort zone. Through Q, Picard discovers that values are never unambiguous once they actually need to be implemented in times of crisis. This is an essential lesson for legal leaders who generally love to fly the flags of “integrity” and “rule of law” on their departments’ ships in calm seas. Picard is no stranger to this, as he frequently hands down (trite) lessons of morality. And in certain situations he even places the value of diplomacy and compromise above the enforcement of absolute truths – often to the chagrin of his sometimes overly righteous second-in-command Riker, who would rather make no concessions to what he believes are inalienable values.
But with Q, Picard is simultaneously shaken by (self-)doubts and steadfast in his moral compass. He chooses his battles wisely, but perseveres in those that matter most, the ones where his values are really put to the test. By analogy, the true value of the legal department does not reveal itself when it is advising on simple ‘allowable’ client requests / transactions – it truly becomes apparent when the choice of advice is both professionally and personally perilous.
Accept your weaknesses but seek help overcoming them
Lastly, Picard, although not exactly socially awkward, struggles with relationships that would require him to open up emotionally, in particular towards women. This struggle is shown several times and frequently ends with an element of humiliation (and humility) on Picard’s part.
Not only does Picard accept his flaw, he openly communicates it in a manner that leaves little doubt as to his sincerity. He never uses it coquettishly to make a point or appear more likeable. In fact, he seems simultaneously angry at and at ease with himself for his repeated failures on this front.
The part of Picard at ease with himself is to no small degree due to the fact that he actively chooses to be mentored by someone completely unrelated to his sphere of influence. In his position of power and authority this is no small feat. His conversations with Guinan, the bartender confidant, not infrequently change his perspective on past losses and victories and provide an important corrective, outside of the chain-of-command. It is this ability to accept one’s failures with grace (and without false humility), but simultaneously to want to be reminded of them (sometimes painfully), which makes Picard an authentic leader – in the true sense of the word.
So if I find myself in situations like those I describe above, I always recall Picard insisting, when he is asked to compromise his core values: “There are FOUR lights!”
Make it so.
Ah, and one more thing: If you spotted the irony of me starting a rant about sub-par leadership one-liners with a textbook example of one in the headline – hold on to it for dear life! There are more than enough dead-serious leaders out there.
Thanks for allowing me to showcase one of my favourite leaders.
Best wishes
Florian
From Jonathan:
The Drama Triangle Revisited – How to Escape the Triangle
Last week I outlined a model known as the ‘Drama Triangle’, a model of dysfunctional social interaction, often occurring among people in conflict.
To recap, the American psychiatrist Stephen Karpman proposed that there is often a triangle of actors in a conflict – persecutor, victim and rescuer. I pointed out that this type of conflict is in fact what is known as a psychodrama, where each of the actors slips into a psychodramatic role – sometimes fluidly switching between roles to achieve unconscious goals and agendas.
As promised, here are some thoughts about how to try to break out of the ‘drama triangle’ if you find yourself stuck in one[1]:
1. Recognise the Drama Triangle – The first step to changing the dynamic is to recognise it. As in many other areas where there is a dysfunctional dynamic or you are trapped in an unproductive ‘game’, awareness / self-awareness is important as it can help you recognise the pattern or dynamic, as a prelude to escaping from it.
2. Coach the ‘Victim’ - Rather than stepping in as rescuer (and reinforcing a damaged dynamic) ask some simple questions to empower the ‘victim’ and to encourage the ‘victim’ to take personal responsibility. I put the word ‘victim’ in inverted commas as what you are really trying to do is to enable that individual to break out from actual or perceived victimhood, rather than to accept and thereby reinforce the actual or perceived victimhood.
3. Be Blunt- But Careful - This is tricky. You are wanting to break the cycle of actual or perceived victimhood, but if you are clumsy you can come across as aggressive (Persecutor), needy (Victim) or smothering (Rescuer). And in these days of cancel culture you need to be particularly careful to avoid accusations of victim blaming, for fear of yourself being cancelled.
4. Listen, Listen, Listen - Much of the secret of good coaching is good listening. You won’t really tune in to what is going on unless you listen. I’ve written in earlier issues of Practical Counsel about the importance of active listening (see Issues #6 and #7). Listening will enable you to understand what is going on, and also give the ‘victim’ space to take responsibility.
5. Refuse to Play Drama Triangle: You can break the dynamic by refusing to play your ‘role’ in the dynamic. By refusing to play ‘rescuer’, you step out of that rescuer role and you have a good chance of enabling the ‘victim’ to step out of his or her role as such. Victor Frankl, in his magnificent book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ explains that it is the response to the external stimulus that often determines the outcome. Victims often have external locus of control (meaning that they generally ascribe their successes or failures to factors beyond their control), rather than working out how to modify their response to whatever situation they face. If you as potential ‘rescuer’ can step out of that role and empower the victim to shift mindset you might help that individual to discover how to escape his or her victimhood.
These are just a few thoughts about how to break the drama triangle. As I pointed out in the last issue of Practical Counsel I will be talking in future issues about the theory known as transactional analysis. Transactional Analysis can be used as a tool for looking at relationships within legal departments and with the business – and in particular as a tool that can be incredibly useful, in my experience, in trying to improve those relationships.
Key Takeaways
1. This issue is the last in a series of issues combining light-hearted fun with some serious learning. It’s been summertime for lawyers in the Northern Hemisphere and many have been on their summer holidays. Next week - back to work for many!!
2. In each of these issues of Practical Counsel, senior in-house lawyers and /or industry experts have nominated / presented their favourite characters from fiction who speak to them with regard to leadership, management and relational issues.
3. In this issue Florian Cahn nominated Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Starship Enterprise. He drew a number of leadership lessons from Picard, in particular from his attachment to diversity, his commitment to his values (even under adversity), and his desire to understand better his weaknesses and areas for development.
4. While all of the nominated characters are fictional – and the creations of ‘real’ human beings – we have seen over the last few issues of Practical Counsel that it is possible to learn powerful leadership, management and relational lessons from these characters. Next week I will be revealing my favourite nomination.
5. Also in this week’s issue I rounded out my discussion of the so-called Drama Triangle. I defined this dynamic in last week’s issue and in this issue I discussed a variety of techniques for breaking free of the dynamic.
6. Breaking free of this particular dynamic requires some of the skills already discussed in previous issues, in particular active listening.
And now …….
Contribute to the debate and write in with your comments and observations. Also write to Jonathan with any other people issues you face as an in-house lawyer.
Jonathan can be reached by email at practicalcounsel@substack.com
A note for you picky lawyers; and a plea for tolerance
I am a British lawyer by background and went to both school and University in the UK. So my English is British English. I have taken a conscious decision to write this newsletter in British English, but to try to avoid phrases that aren’t common outside the UK. Sometimes, though, I’ll use a phrase that isn’t commonly used outside the UK, without realising that it is a Britishism. I also endeavour to use the vernacular spellings of my contributors (e.g. to use US spellings for a US contributor), but won’t always get this right.
My plea is for you to tolerate the British spellings and grammar and the occasional Britishism. And to focus on the substance of the newsletter rather than the occasional (to you) annoying turn of phrase, bit of grammar or unorthodox spelling, or the occasional inconsistency in spelling as between, for example, UK and US ‘standard’ spellings.
Thank you and best wishes,
Jonathan Middleburgh
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I’m indebted here to this piece by Michael Bungay Stanier. See also this piece.