[Thascales]

I guess an interesting difference between Kirk and Picard is what they commanded. Kirk captained a ship. Picard captained a flying city. Their styles of command might be informed by that.

[horatio]

Originally Posted by MrQ1701

Not a text book "boss", but an example of a great "leader". There is a difference.

Boss, leader, a person in a position of power and responsibility, call it however you like.
TNG has frequently dealt with questions of authority and leadership, e.g. in "Allegiance" which showed when authority has to be questioned, when mutiny becomes necessary or the unforgetable Jellico whose "drillish" and creativity-blocking style was in sharp contrast to Picard's.
The best example is one scene in "Contagion" where Geordi literally flies onto the bridge because of a malfunctioning turbolift and yells that an alien probe has to be destroyed. Without hesitation, Picard does as his chief engineer says, truely a working atmosphere of mutual trust.

Originally Posted by Thascales

I guess an interesting difference between Kirk and Picard is what they commanded. Kirk captained a ship. Picard captained a flying city. Their styles of command might be informed by that.

Nothing against TOS and one guy resp. three friends leading a ship, that resonates with a lot of people, but the themes TNG dealt with made it the superior show. Watching a few TNG episodes and observing Picard would do some managers more good than reading textbooks or attending leadership seminars.

[MrQ1701]

Originally Posted by horatio

Boss, leader, a person in a position of power and responsibility, call it however you like.

Sorry, I understood what you meant. I just wanted to make it clear that not all "bosses" are "leaders". Being an authority figure alone did not make Picard great. During high school I was in J.R.O.T.C. I had two great teachers. I learned all about motivating a group to a common goal. I also learned when, where, and how to properly discipline or correct a subordinate. Much of what I learned is taught in management and leadership courses. Picard is a leader. Jellico is a boss. That is basically the way I was taught.

Originally Posted by horatio

TNG has frequently dealt with questions of authority and leadership, e.g. in "Allegiance" which showed when authority has to be questioned, when mutiny becomes necessary or the unforgetable Jellico whose "drillish" and creativity-blocking style was in sharp contrast to Picard's.
The best example is one scene in "Contagion" where Geordi literally flies onto the bridge because of a malfunctioning turbolift and yells that an alien probe has to be destroyed. Without hesitation, Picard does as his chief engineer says, truely a working atmosphere of mutual trust.

I believe this is the major factor behind the Enterprise being the flagship of the fleet. The Enterprise was always called for the most dangerous or troubling missions. Picards leadership style brought out the best in people. They genuinely respected him. He listened to all opinions and made his decisions based on not only his personal views, but on the input from his crew. I agree, managers can learn alot from Picard.

[kevin]

I think the factor with Picard is that it's always more satisfying using the brain to solve the problem.

Obviously being an action adventure format series requires scenes where things get physical and that's not a problem. But in TNG it was more satisfying to watch Picard solve things through his smarts.

I remember his outsmarting of the drug supplying Brekkians in 'Symbiosis' far more than his physical fight with the Queen.

[Roysten]

Originally Posted by kevin

I think the factor with Picard is that it's always more satisfying using the brain to solve the problem.

Obviously being an action adventure format series requires scenes where things get physical and that's not a problem. But in TNG it was more satisfying to watch Picard solve things through his smarts.

I remember his outsmarting of the drug supplying Brekkians in 'Symbiosis' far more than his physical fight with the Queen.

Picard personifies Star Trek's philosophy of solving problems with words rather than brawn, he did it on many occasions and showed he was a great boss/leader/captain/friend/teacher whether he was fighting for their survival or teaching Data about humanity.

Patrick Stewart also made the character work for action too, his battle with the Queen and his youthful rebellious streak coming through in INS were both great to watch.

Can't really say which attitude Picard applied to solve his problems I prefer, though in some ways I found the thoughtful Picard carried more authority than badass Picard, perfect example when he whips Wesley in First Duty.

[chator]

Originally Posted by Commodore

I prefer TV Picard. He just simply radiated cool unquestioned authority and had a style that was refreshingly different from man-of-action Kirk.

Movie Picard is going through a mid-life crisis, apparently triggered after meeting Kirk...

Might there be a lesson here for the young Chris Pine. What made Picard work was that he wasn't a Shatner clone, he was his own character, yet rivals Kirk among Trek fans as the Best Captain.

[Kukalaka]

TV Picard will always be tops in my books.

[Kukalaka]

Originally Posted by Thascales

I guess an interesting difference between Kirk and Picard is what they commanded. Kirk captained a ship. Picard captained a flying city. Their styles of command might be informed by that.

Never thought of it that way but you are absolutely right.

Picard's even keel and cool, calm leadership represents the responsability of command over not only the enlisted, but civilian personnel and children being carried onboard.

[Tiberius1964]

There was always an undercurrent of tough guy in Picard's character during the series. His fantasy life as a noirish private eye was an outlet for that. I remember an episode in which an Admiral told one of the crew that Picard once won a race he had no business being in. There were the episodes where Picard is missing and ends up as part of a crew of rogues chasing a long-lost Vulcan artifact. In that episode, Riker, LaForge, Worf (!) and I think a security guard are pinned down by the bad guys on a planet, and all they can do is beam back to Enterprise. Later, in following up on Picard's back trail, they find Picard ran into them in a bar on a space station and was kicking the bad guys' collective butts. It's a small point, not often alluded to, but it shows Picard has the ability to be really hell on wheels when he needs to be.

Which is one of my beefs about Generations. Picard should be able to take out a strung-out drug addict (Soran). The idea that Soran can beat Picard, making it necessary for Picard to get help from Kirk, is just bad and lazy storytelling, imho.