Calling CAPTalk Geeks Again: Star Trek for Leadership Classes

Started by JC004, November 03, 2015, 07:20:43 PM

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JC004

We used the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty" for ethics, honor code, integrity, etc. to much success.  It's great because it directly addresses a problem of cadets facing an ethical dilemma, and the consequences. 

I am working on some classes to use, based on Star Trek episodes because very few TV shows address leadership, command, etc. like it does.  Plus, they are a good length for meeting nights (movies like 12 O'Clock High and Shackleton are longer than the meeting).

Suggestions on episodes, topics, themes, discussion questions?

THRAWN

Quote from: JC004 on November 03, 2015, 07:20:43 PM
We used the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty" for ethics, honor code, integrity, etc. to much success.  It's great because it directly addresses a problem of cadets facing an ethical dilemma, and the consequences. 

I am working on some classes to use, based on Star Trek episodes because very few TV shows address leadership, command, etc. like it does.  Plus, they are a good length for meeting nights (movies like 12 O'Clock High and Shackleton are longer than the meeting).

Suggestions on episodes, topics, themes, discussion questions?

Here's a whole book of 'em....Star Trek: Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation
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JC004

I was thinking about getting that.  I wasn't sure if it's any good.  I don't have the money at the moment. 

THRAWN

Quote from: JC004 on November 03, 2015, 07:35:00 PM
I was thinking about getting that.  I wasn't sure if it's any good.  I don't have the money at the moment.

Amazon has a bunch of them used for about $4, shipping included. Each of the chapters is a lesson, and has supporting "materials" from selected episodes. It was one of the more funner reading selections that we used inservice during my UPS days.
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JC004

I think The Next Generation will probably be best, but I am looking at all options.

One under consideration is the Voyager episode "Nightingale" in which Ensign Kim must act as Captain without any fallback for the first time, commanding an alien ship. 

Another might be "Valiant" from Deep Space Nine, and I can involve one of the actors in discussion too.   :)   

THRAWN

Quote from: JC004 on November 03, 2015, 07:55:06 PM
I think The Next Generation will probably be best, but I am looking at all options.

One under consideration is the Voyager episode "Nightingale" in which Ensign Kim must act as Captain without any fallback for the first time, commanding an alien ship. 

Another might be "Valiant" from Deep Space Nine, and I can involve one of the actors in discussion too.   :)

Redemption is a good one. Any of the DS9 episodes is a good study in leadership success and failure (Sisko and his struggle against defeat at the hands of Michael Eddington of the Maquis  "He played me all right, and what is my excuse? Is he a changeling? No. Is he a being with seven lifetimes of experience? No. Is he a wormhole alien? No. He's just a man, like me. And he beat me! ") Well you just planned my weekend...
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winterg

I'm a current member of SFI (Starfleet International). I know I saw some leadership courses in the Starfleet Academy that use episodes to illustrate leadership lessons. I will look them up when I get home and get you some info. 

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Quote from: JC004 on November 03, 2015, 07:55:06 PM
I think The Next Generation will probably be best, but I am looking at all options.

One under consideration is the Voyager episode "Nightingale" in which Ensign Kim must act as Captain without any fallback for the first time, commanding an alien ship. 

Another might be "Valiant" from Deep Space Nine, and I can involve one of the actors in discussion too.   :)

One of my old cadets used a Voyager episode, the one where Janeway tried to broker a peace agreement between the Kazon and some other race, but was faced with not only trying to remain neutral, but dealing with the ethical issues of working with the enemy for the greater good.
Still a major after all these years.
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JC004

Here are some of the episodes under consideration.  Obviously, we wouldn't do them all, or we'd make a packet of episode/discussion guides for units to choose from, maybe spread them out over a couple years if we ended up selecting more than a handful.

------------------------------------

Episode: "Valiant" (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) – Season 6, Ep. 22

Overview:  Jake and Nog, on a visit to Ferenginar, find themselves on board a rogue starship, piloted by a fresh-faced crew of Starfleet cadets. But these aren't just any cadets, they're Red Squad cadets: the best of the best. Their loyalty and obedience eventually lead them into disaster.  Addresses cadet leadership, obedience, loyalty, compromised judgment, service before self, respect.

Episode:  "The First Duty" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 5, Ep. 19

Overview:  Following an accident during an Academy training exercise that leads to the death of one of his friends, Wesley Crusher must decide whether loyalty or truth is the first duty.  Addresses cadets, ethics, integrity, loyalty.

Episode:  "Tapestry" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 6, Ep. 15
Overview:  After being attacked on an away mission, Picard dies and meets Q in the afterlife who offers him the chance to change a crucial moment in his history and prevent the mistakes he made in his youth.  Addresses the decisions we make in life, how decisions impact who we become, the nature of leadership and command.

Episode:  "Nightingale" (Star Trek: Voyager) – Season 7, Ep. 8

Overview:  When Harry Kim rescues a crippled alien starship, the grateful crew offers him command.  Addresses experience, leadership, command, micromanagement, growth as a leader and commander.

Episode:  "Darmok" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 5, Ep. 2
Overview:  Picard is captured, then trapped on a planet with an alien captain who speaks a metaphorical language incompatible with the universal translator. They must learn to communicate with each other before a deadly planetary beast overwhelms them.  Addresses communication, etc.

Episode:  "Disaster" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 5, Ep. 5
Overview:  A quantum filament disables the Enterprise, leaving Counselor Troi in command on the bridge, and various groups on different parts of the ship facing perils alone.  Addresses command, leadership, being thrown into a leadership position unprepared.

Episode:  "Chain of Command" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 6, Ep. 10
Overview:  Picard, Worf, and Dr. Crusher are reassigned from the Enterprise to a secret mission. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is under the command of Captain Edward Jellico, who immediately starts making changes, much to the dismay of the crew.  Addresses styles of leadership and command, change management in organizations, loyalty to leaders, personality conflicts in units organizations, etc.

Episode:  "The Pegasus" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) – Season 7, Ep. 12
Overview:  When Riker's first commanding officer comes aboard to aid in the search for the vessel they served on, he is forced to rethink the actions he took at that time.  Addresses loyalty, integrity, being ordered to violate ethics, growth and maturing as a leader, making difficult decisions, lying, etc.

Episode:  "Thine Own Self" (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Season 7, Ep. 16
Overview:  Data suffers amnesia in a primitive society while Troi applies for a promotion.  Addresses the nature of leadership and command through Troi's attempts at the bridge officer's exam.

Episode:  "The Equinox" (Star Trek: Voyager) – Season 5, Ep. 26
Overview:  Voyager finds another Federation starship, the USS Equinox, stranded in the Delta Quadrant. But they also find that the Equinox crew is harboring a dark secret. (Season Finale)  Addresses ethical command, personal loyalty, violating regulations and ethics for personal expediency, leadership in difficult and desperate situations, etc.

Episode:  "The Void" (Star Trek: Voyager) – Season 7, Ep. 15

Overview:  Voyager becomes trapped in an empty region of space where other stranded starships prey on each other to survive.  Addresses teamwork, alliances, diplomacy, upholding core values in difficult circumstances, etc.

winterg


JC004


winterg

Quote from: JC004 on November 06, 2015, 01:52:38 AM
Quote from: winterg on November 06, 2015, 01:51:13 AM
That list is better than one I had.  Nice.
Did you find the materials you mentioned?

I thought I had saved a copy of the SFA course but cannot find it and I cannot find the course in the SFA catalog.  I'll have to make some inquiries.

Holding Pattern


THRAWN

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JC004

*BUMP* 

Just wondering if anyone had any new input on this.  I've been in the hospital and on home nursing care for a while, with little internet access at times, and I'm very far behind on projects.

This is one thing that I want to get done pretty soon (at least a couple episodes to start).

A.Member

Serious question:  Do you really think cadets will relate to or are interested in Star Trek? 

It's really for an older person's generation and even then it's a rather "niche" crowd.  Honestly, I don't foresee many cadets getting excited over it, let alone even knowing what it is (the lack of cadet interest in this thread may be an indicator).  Just my $.02.
"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Luis R. Ramos

I really question using Star Trek for leadership classes.

I was a Star Trek fan.

The only thing on leadership I learned from Star Trek is "Good will always win over evil."

Then I started working, reach adulthood, etc.
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Luis R. Ramos

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Quote from: JC004 on June 21, 2016, 02:56:40 AM
*BUMP* 

Just wondering if anyone had any new input on this.  I've been in the hospital and on home nursing care for a while, with little internet access at times, and I'm very far behind on projects.

This is one thing that I want to get done pretty soon (at least a couple episodes to start).

First things first - I hope and pray that your medical situation is improving. Get well, stay well, live long and perspire (grin).

Next, I'd like to suggest a selection process to apply, to arrive at max benefits from using TV shows and movies:

On the ST age issue, I think a root problem is that ANY series will have limited applicability to todays cadets if the selected episode requires back stories and fan experience to appreciate the underlying character details and backgrounds.  It wouldn't matter if it was a war series (e.g. "Rat Patrol", "Combat!") or an SF series, or a Western.  So, while I've been recently surprised to see a couple of 17 year olds go to a 'con dressed as one of the robot girls from TOS "Shore Leave" (fuzzy bikinis and all), the vast majority of our cadets just haven't sat through the mass of required reading to get many of the points. We need to keep "STANDALONE EPISODE" in mind throughout, I would submit.

Then, I have to say, using shows and episodes which don't impose a distracting cultural shock is ideal. Asking the below average young teen to not be distracted by the aliens/costumes/SFX is asking a lot (even when they're laughably poor by todays standards... spending time laughing at the foam boulders or the rubber masks distracts from appreciation of the main leadership point, right)? So, pick a "low strangeness" quotient.

I'm sure there are many other factors to apply... just thought I'd submit a couple to help narrow the criteria between so many decent shows, if that's the way people want to go.


For me, I still like AE themed flicks which I can annotate AMC style, e.g. "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", which I've done for over a decade with a slide deck pointing out Michener's story basis on the real Jesse Brown and Medal of Honor winner Thomas Hudner, which is a story of leadership, defiance of segregation and prejudice, and also has AE historical elements (and is a good flick):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Hudner_Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_L._Brown

"The guided missile destroyer, aptly named USS Thomas Hudner, will join the fleet in 2018. Its crest will feature the tail numbers of Hudner's plane, 205, and Brown's plane, 211 – symbolizing their unyielding comradeship".
http://www.people.com/article/91-year-old-korean-war-vet-gets-heartwarming-surprise


I remain an old school ST fan, but why not just use real world examples?


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